misunderstanding
Americannoun
-
failure to understand correctly; mistake as to meaning or intent.
- Synonyms:
- misconception, error, misapprehension
-
a disagreement or quarrel.
- Synonyms:
- dissension, difficulty, difference, discord
- Antonyms:
- concord
noun
-
a failure to understand properly
-
a disagreement
Other Word Forms
- misunderstandingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of misunderstanding
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; mis- 1 + understanding
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I feel like there’s a misunderstanding of them, of where they come from or things they’ve been through that contribute to the way they are.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
"As well as leading to misunderstanding of serious conditions and pathologising ordinary behaviour, misinformation can also lead to delayed diagnosis for people that actually do need help."
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
He had yet to acclimate to his new neighborhood when he was arrested last year in a misunderstanding with the police.
From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026
A misunderstanding about the impact of AI on software has brought software stocks’ valuations to reasonable levels that are now able to be seen as a function of profit multiple.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
The magnitude of the misunderstanding shocked him: These supposedly diversified piles of consumer loans now consisted almost entirely of U.S. subprime mortgages.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
