Misunderstanding — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

putting the wrong interpretation on

an understanding of something that is not correct

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mɪsˌʌndɚstˈændɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/mɪsˌʌndəstˈandɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mɪsˌʌndəstˈandɪŋ/

5 syllables Say it as /mɪsˌʌndɚstˈændɪŋ/.

Examples

his misinterpretation of the question caused his error
there was no mistaking her meaning
he wasn't going to admit his mistake

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

misapprehension misapprehend misinterpret be amiss misinterpretation misconceive mistaking misconstrue misunderstand mistake

Parts of Speech

noun	putting the wrong interpretation on “his misinterpretation of the question caused his error”
noun	an understanding of something that is not correct “he wasn't going to admit his mistake”
verb	interpret in the wrong way “Don't misinterpret my comments as criticism”

Word Forms

misinterpret	verb	interpret in the wrong way
misunderstand	verb	interpret in the wrong way
mistake	verb	identify incorrectly
misapprehend	verb	interpret in the wrong way
misconstruction	noun	a kind of misinterpretation resulting from putting a wrong construction on words or actions (often deliberately)
misconstrual	noun	a kind of misinterpretation resulting from putting a wrong construction on words or actions (often deliberately)
misinterpretation	noun	putting the wrong interpretation on
misconception	noun	an incorrect conception
misunderstanding	noun	putting the wrong interpretation on
misapprehension	noun	an understanding of something that is not correct

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Missverständnis

die falsche Interpretation anbringen

🇫🇷French

malentendu

donner une mauvaise interprétation

🇪🇸Spanish

malentendido

dando una interpretación equivocada

🇮🇹Italian

malinteso

dando un'interpretazione sbagliata

🇳🇱Dutch

misverstand

er een verkeerde interpretatie aan geven

🇵🇹Portuguese

mal-entendido

dando uma interpretação errada

🇷🇺Russian

недоразумение

дать неправильную интерпретацию

India

🇮🇳Hindi

गलतफहमी

गलत व्याख्या डाल रहे हैं

🇧🇩Bengali

ভুল বোঝাবুঝি

ভুল ব্যাখ্যা করা

🇮🇳Tamil

தவறான புரிதல்

தவறான விளக்கம் போடுகிறார்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

అపార్థం

తప్పుడు వ్యాఖ్యానం పెట్టడం

🇮🇳Marathi

गैरसमज

चुकीचा अर्थ लावणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ગેરસમજ

ખોટું અર્થઘટન મૂકવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಪ್ಪು ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ

ತಪ್ಪು ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನವನ್ನು ಹಾಕುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

തെറ്റിദ്ധാരണ

തെറ്റായ വ്യാഖ്യാനം നൽകുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਗਲਤਫਹਿਮੀ

'ਤੇ ਗਲਤ ਵਿਆਖਿਆ ਪਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

غلط فہمی

غلط تشریح پر ڈالنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

误解

错误的解释

🇯🇵Japanese

誤解

間違った解釈を押し付ける

🇰🇷Korean

오해

잘못된 해석을 붙이는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự hiểu lầm

đưa ra cách giải thích sai

🇹🇭Thai

ความเข้าใจผิด

ใส่การตีความที่ผิด

🇮🇩Indonesian

salah paham

memberikan interpretasi yang salah

🇵🇭Filipino

hindi pagkakaunawaan

paglalagay ng maling interpretasyon

🇲🇾Malay

salah faham

meletakkan tafsiran yang salah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سوء الفهم

وضع تفسير خاطئ

🇮🇷Persian

سوء تفاهم

تعبیر نادرست قرار دادن

🇹🇷Turkish

yanlış anlama

yanlış yoruma yer vermek

🇮🇱Hebrew

אִי הֲבָנָה

לשים את הפרשנות השגויה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'misunderstanding'?

The primary meaning of 'misunderstanding' is 'putting the wrong interpretation on'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'misunderstanding' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'misunderstanding' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'misunderstanding' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'misunderstanding' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'misunderstanding' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'misunderstanding' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'misunderstanding' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'misunderstanding' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'misunderstanding' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'misunderstanding' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted