misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

misrepresented; misrepresenting; misrepresents

transitive verb

1

: to give a false or misleading representation of usually with an intent to deceive or be unfair

misrepresented the facts

2

: to serve badly or improperly as a representative of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

-zən-

noun

misrepresentative

(ˌ)mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms

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

Examples of misrepresent in a Sentence

The company is accused of misrepresenting its earnings.

The movie deliberately misrepresents the facts about her life.

Recent Examples on the Web

The department also found Cruise had misrepresented information related to safety. —Corina Vanek, The Arizona Republic, 13 May 2024

Quirk, who has twice been censured by the City Council for misrepresenting the city’s position on the railroad and other issues, has called for abandoning the rail route and turning it into a bicycle and pedestrian trail from San Diego to San Clemente. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

misrepresent

verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent (ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˈzent 

: to give a false or misleading idea of

misrepresentation

(ˌ)mis-ˌrep-ri-ˌzen-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

misrepresent

transitive verb

mis·​rep·​re·​sent mis-ˌre-pri-ˈzent 

: to make a misrepresentation about

intransitive verb

: to make a misrepresentation

misrepresentative

-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

adjective

misrepresenter noun