misunderstand
Americanverb (used with object)
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misunderstands,
present (3rd person singular)
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misunderstood,
past participle, past
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misunderstanding
present participle
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to take (words, statements, etc.) in a wrong sense; understand wrongly.
- Synonyms:
- misinterpret, misapprehend, misconstrue
-
to fail to understand or interpret rightly the words or behavior of.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misunderstandsimple
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misunderstandssimple
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have misunderstoodperfect
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has misunderstoodperfect
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am misunderstandingprogressive
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are misunderstandingprogressive
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is misunderstandingprogressive
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have been misunderstandingperfect progressive
-
has been misunderstandingperfect progressive
Past
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misunderstoodsimple
-
had misunderstoodperfect
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was misunderstandingprogressive
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were misunderstandingprogressive
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had been misunderstandingperfect progressive
Future
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hopefully Hollywood won’t misunderstand the lesson in those projects’ success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
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
Nvidia remains undervalued by investors, perhaps because they misunderstand the company’s true data-center dominance.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
“People are desperate for indicators so they look at VIX and they misunderstand it,” says Scott Nations, president of volatility index developer Nations Indexes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Up until now, I’ve largely assumed that all of my interpretations of Hideo’s words have been exaggerated on my part, but it’s pretty hard to misunderstand this statement.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Some of its language suggests that, despite several briefings, he completely misunderstands the subject of uranium enrichment—crucial to any negotiation with Iran.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
The court "misunderstands FIFRA's requirement, misinterprets the scope of FIFRA's preemption and ultimately leaves Durness without a remedy for the significant harms he has suffered."
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Your editorial praises a judicial opinion that misunderstands the 340B program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
De Zylva argues this misunderstands the point: "The purpose of the green belt isn't to be green per se, it is to be a buffer to prevent sprawl."
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
The evidence is clear: not only does della Porta echo Garzoni’s words, but he misunderstands some of the experiments he claims to have performed, and so misreports them.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
"I've always been misunderstood because of how I look," she sang on 2008's Backwood Barbie.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Postpartum psychosis isn’t widely understood, which is why, at least in part, this trial is so misunderstood.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Mere days after taking to the media to insist that he is a misunderstood film buff who just wants to save Hollywood, he threatened to help destroy it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Campbell explained that second-generation Irish identity is often misunderstood, with artistic expressions of that heritage frequently provoking mixed reactions.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
And, all the way down, the debt collectors at Deutsche Bank sensed the bond traders at Morgan Stanley misunderstood their own trade.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
According to the researchers, the controversy sparked by the findings reported last November was caused by a misunderstanding in the analysis rather than evidence that scientists' basic picture of the universe had suddenly broken down.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
Readers in America may marvel at the authors’ misunderstanding of the Kellogg family’s breakfast-cereal story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
MarketWatch: What is happening with the Federal Reserve that investors may be misunderstanding?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nonthaburi governor Chestha Mosikarat earlier told reporters the suspect and victim were "friends for a long time" and the incident likely stemmed from a misunderstanding.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Their only real interaction with American kids came about as a result of a misunderstanding.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
