misinterpret

verb

mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmi-sᵊn-ˈtər-prət 

-pət

misinterpreted; misinterpreting; misinterprets

transitive verb

1

: to explain wrongly

His comment on the speech misinterprets the speaker's meaning.

2

: to understand wrongly

Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

Synonyms

• bend
• color
• cook
• distort
• falsify
• fudge
• garble
• misrelate
• misrepresent
• misstate
• pervert
• slant
• twist
• warp

Examples of misinterpret in a Sentence

He claims that his statements have been misinterpreted by the media.

Her silence should not be misinterpreted as consent.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Mail reported there had been suggestions that Errol Musk may have misinterpreted his son's joke and incorrectly believed Grimes had wanted to ink her son for real. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025

Allison’s legal team has suggested that the government may have misinterpreted the communications between Allison and the Slovakian killer. —James Bandler, ProPublica, 25 Mar. 2025

And why has her performance been so widely misinterpreted by bad-faith actors online? —Abby Monteil, Them, 24 Mar. 2025

In financial settings, an AI system might misinterpret a rule and automatically process an incorrect transaction. —Keren Katz, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misinterpret

• reinterpret
• interpret

Kids Definition

misinterpret

verb

mis·​in·​ter·​pret ˌmis-ᵊn-ˈtər-prət 

-pət

: to understand or explain wrongly

misinterpretation

-ˌtər-prə-ˈtā-shən 

-pə-ˈtā-

noun