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

This alienation extends beyond the field, affecting how women in rugby and other sports are misrepresented and underrepresented in the media. —Paige Perricone, The Denver Post, 7 Mar. 2025

Avoid guessing or making up a story that misrepresents the financial facts. —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

The lawsuit alleged conversion of property and that Reina breached his fiduciary duty to the station, committed fraud and intentionally misrepresented his intentions to the station. —Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2025

The recent op-ed also misrepresents our efforts to modernize hospital payments under the AHEAD grant. —Andrea Barton Reeves, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misrepresent

• accent
• advent
• ascent
• assent
• augment
• cement
• consent
• dement
• descent
• detent
• dissent
• event

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