misidentify

verb

mis·​iden·​ti·​fy ˌmis-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfī How to pronounce misidentify (audio)
-ə-ˈden-
misidentified; misidentifying

transitive verb

: to identify (someone or something) incorrectly
… a coroner apparently misidentified the bullet he removed from the victim, stating that its caliber differed from that of the bullet entered as evidence against the known shooter.David Fisher
While examining the American Museum's collection, I came across a mongoose specimen that was clearly misidentified.W. Chris Wozencraft

Examples of misidentify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Historically, technologies like data mining rulesets attempted to highlight relevant data but often fell short, missing critical details or misidentifying information. Michael Dennis, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024 The other three generally struggled to identify plastics and, in some cases, would even misidentify shadows as trash. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2024 But soon, a group of preppy teens misidentifies them as murderers in a comedy-horror send-up of the genre. James Mercadante, EW.com, 22 Oct. 2024 Their euphoria over the pending sale is short-lived, though, after an anonymous caller demands millions to stay quiet about a discrepancy in the software’s accuracy, which shows greater likelihood that the software will misidentify people of color. Katie Campione, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for misidentify 

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misidentify was in 1867

Dictionary Entries Near misidentify

Cite this Entry

“Misidentify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misidentify. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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