inaccurate
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does inaccurate mean? Inaccurate describes something that is incorrect, false, or not quite right, as in I came home at 9:30 last night, so saying I was out all night is inaccurate. Inaccurate is the opposite of accurate, which describes something being free of defects or errors. You might describe a scale is inaccurate if it doesn’t show the precise weight of something. Inaccurate can also describe something that is wrong or untrue. You could claim that the lie your brother told about you is inaccurate, especially if there’s a bit of truth in what he said but overall it’s wrong. Example: The results of the test were inaccurate, but they can be used to improve the next one.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inaccurate
Explanation
If what you tell me is not exactly right, it is inaccurate. If you measured the amount of rainfall incorrectly, your data about the climate would be inaccurate. Accuracy means being very precise and getting the information right. When something is inaccurate, it is the opposite of exact. If you get a question wrong on a test, your teacher will not say, "You, sir, are inaccurate," she'll just say you are wrong. She might also explain that your inaccurate methodology led to an inaccurate response.
Vocabulary lists containing inaccurate
Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
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Common Core Grade 6, List 1
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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.
It also cites an administration list of 20,000 “likely noncitizens” allegedly on California rolls being “proven remarkably slapdash” and inaccurate in recent litigation between the administration and California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The Social Security Administration did not respond to a request for comment, or to questions regarding why there was so much incomplete data or what about citizenship statuses were inaccurate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
That can lead to catastrophic overconfidence and error if the data set used is inaccurate or fails to account for some essential facet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The brain relies on familiar expectations to make the world easier to understand, even when those expectations are inaccurate or no longer helpful.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
It showed clean river with narrow banks where he guessed the lake was and if it was inaccurate about this one thing then it might be wrong about all things.
From "The River" by Gary Paulsen
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
