1
as in blunder
a wrong judgment
they made a mistake when they thought the young pitcher was ready to be called up to the major leagues
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2
as in error
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
made a mistake on the exam that almost cost her a passing grade
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to misunderstand
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to underestimate
to make an incorrect judgment regarding
you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily
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3
as in to confuse
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
she mistook physical attraction for love
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mistake
Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2025
Even Tarek El Moussa makes a mistake every once in a while.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, Fox News, 13 Feb. 2025
Sarah Bradley, Health, 13 Feb. 2025
Still, mistaking a spacecraft or human-made object for an asteroid is troublesome for the Minor Planet Center, which is tasked only with identifying naturally occurring objects.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mistake
Noun
Don’t act too quickly though, because using your oven’s self-cleaning function could be a huge mistake.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2025
Even Tarek El Moussa makes a mistake every once in a while.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, Fox News, 13 Feb. 2025
Verb
Other common skin conditions, like psoriasis and ringworm, can be mistaken for dandruff or dry scalp.
—Sarah Bradley, Health, 13 Feb. 2025
Still, mistaking a spacecraft or human-made object for an asteroid is troublesome for the Minor Planet Center, which is tasked only with identifying naturally occurring objects.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mistake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistake
Noun
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Still, many in Kenya condemned the talks as a political blunder by President William Ruto, and called on him to reverse course.—
Declan Walsh,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2025
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The verdict came after a blunder by Miami-Dade state prosecutors, who felt the need to apologize to jurors for not identifying a purse on the couch next to where Knighton was sitting in Blount’s apartment when she was shot.—
Charles Rabin,
Miami Herald,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Gibney explores her long career, her occasional errors and her innovative work in diagnosing and understanding multiple personality disorder.—
Jason Bailey,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
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Yet, as Attanasio continues to clamp down on spending, his team’s margin for error keeps shrinking.—
Ken Rosenthal,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Don’t misunderstand this: that Arsenal team could play too, but winning was the be-all and end-all and being practical to that aim was fundamental.—
Amy Lawrence,
The Athletic,
13 Feb. 2025
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No one can possibly misunderstand the urgency of finding a venue at this point.—
Erin Clack,
People.com,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Deterrence can’t work if your adversary underestimates your ability or willingness to act.—
Edward Fishman,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2025
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Success can breed overconfidence, leading leaders to underestimate emerging threats.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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This should not be confused as some kind of part-time mentoring role, like someone coming in to give a speech once in a while and then clearing off.—
Simon Johnson,
The Athletic,
18 Feb. 2025
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Don't let the term air fryer confuse you: These things are pretty much just small convection ovens that use fans to circulate hot air around your food in order to cook it evenly and efficiently.—
Emily Farris,
Bon Appétit,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Two keys to an under-construction jail in Nashville went missing.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
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On March 23, 2018, authorities executed a search warrant at Almeida’s home, finding watches that had been reported among the missing items.—
Alex Andrejev,
The Athletic,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The show still leans too heavily on hallucinations, and the early episodes misjudge what’s appealing to the viewers (Alexa Barajas’ Mari moves to the center of the wilderness action, while there’s an entire B-story in the present about Shauna’s family karma).—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
14 Feb. 2025
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Analysis is valuable to prevent biases like stereotyping and misjudging probabilities, while intuition is valuable for creativity and rapid adaptation to complex problems.—
Hulan Hagen,
Forbes,
26 Dec. 2024
Noun
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And even that total is in doubt given other miscalculations.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
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Nicknames can be a sign of affection — or a terrible miscalculation.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mistake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistake. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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