misperception

noun

mis·​per·​cep·​tion ˌmis-pər-ˈsēp-shən 

plural misperceptions

: a false or inaccurate perception

… a host of misperceptions about the '50s, including the skewed notion that women didn't work in the 1950s, especially if they were mothers. Even in the '50s, one-fifth of mothers had paying jobs.

—Jeff Reid

Examples of misperception in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Local communities are more likely to trust and accept these organizations, mitigating the potential for local-level conflict to break out as a result of mistrust or misperception. —Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025

But its release was shadowed by the misperception that the filmmakers had contrived the Altamont spectacle. —Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Our failure to follow certain operational protocols combined with poor communication on our part then led to misunderstandings and misperceptions. —David Chiu, People.com, 16 Dec. 2024

The executive order reflects a big misperception of the intent of DEI, said Debra Jennings-Johnson, interim president and CEO with the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council. —Francine Knowles, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1722, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misperception

• apperception
• contraception
• interception
• misconception
• preconception
• conception
• deception
• exception
• inception
• perception
• reception
• intussusception

Medical Definition

misperception

noun

mis·​per·​cep·​tion ˌmis-pər-ˈsep-shən 

: a false perception