misunderstand

American  

[mis-uhn-der-stand] / ˌmɪs ʌn dərˈstænd /

verb (used with object)

misunderstands, present (3rd person singular) misunderstood, past participle, past misunderstanding present participle

1. to take (words, statements, etc.) in a wrong sense; understand wrongly.

   Synonyms:

   misinterpret, misapprehend, misconstrue

2. to fail to understand or interpret rightly the words or behavior of.

---

misunderstand British  

/ ˌmɪsʌndəˈstænd /

verb

1. to fail to understand properly

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misunderstander
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• misunderstanding
  present
• misunderstood
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• misunderstand
  simple
• misunderstands
  simple
• have misunderstood
  perfect
• has misunderstood
  perfect
• am misunderstanding
  progressive
• are misunderstanding
  progressive
• is misunderstanding
  progressive
• have been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive
• has been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Past

• misunderstood
  simple
• had misunderstood
  perfect
• was misunderstanding
  progressive
• were misunderstanding
  progressive
• had been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will misunderstand
  simple
• will have misunderstood
  perfect
• will be misunderstanding
  progressive
• will have been misunderstanding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of misunderstand

First recorded in 1150–1200, misunderstand is from the Middle English word misunderstanden. See mis- ¹, understand

Explanation

To misunderstand is to incorrectly interpret what someone means. If you misunderstand the directions for taking your medication, you might end up feeling loopy or passing out. When a football player misunderstands the coach's instructions, he might make the wrong play. If a baker misunderstands what you ask him to write on your best friend's birthday cake, he might misspell her name. The verb misunderstand adds the "bad" or "wrong" prefix mis- to understand, from an Old English root, understandan, that literally means "stand in the midst of."

Example Sentences

We also discovered—without too much surprise—that he often seems to fundamentally misunderstand the works he treasures most deeply.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

They misunderstand the proper role of an economic system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Nvidia remains undervalued by investors, perhaps because they misunderstand the company’s true data-center dominance.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

What do audiences underestimate or misunderstand about what it takes to make a comedy?

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

For whatever reason, some guys developed an intense, focused interest in me and my life that I used to misunderstand as romantic interest.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

Related Words

• confuse
• miscalculate
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread