misunderstood

[ mis-uhn-der-stood ]

adjective

1. improperly understood or interpreted.
2. not appreciated.

misunderstood

/ ˌmɪsʌndəˈstʊd /

adjective

1. not properly or sympathetically understood

   a misunderstood adolescent

   a misunderstood work of art

Other Words From

• half-mis·un·der·stood adjective
• unmis·un·der·stood adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of misunderstood¹

First recorded in 1585–95; mis- ¹ + understood

Example Sentences

I think they’re misunderstood and misrepresented very often.

From Ozy

The hole became much larger, and it now affects my speech to the point that I am often misunderstood, especially on the phone.

From Fortune

He says he switched from Wall Street to science because the biology of financial risk-taking was fundamentally misunderstood.

From Quartz

Whether we show the chances in percentages or odds, this is the portion of an election forecast that is most anticipated — and has the most potential to be misunderstood.

From FiveThirtyEight

How to evaluate a site for “quality” is the most misunderstood concept in SEO.

From Search Engine Land

I later told my boss about what had happened, but she told me that I probably misunderstood the situation.

From The Daily Beast

As a professed bi-sexual, Evans is misunderstood by those who find her choices offensive.

From The Daily Beast

Not only are the Vikings completely misunderstood, he argues, but they may have saved Europe.

From The Daily Beast

Smiths fandom was an once small and semi-exclusive club, reserved for the clever, literary, and misunderstood teenager.

From The Daily Beast

But despite how common it is, HPV is still deeply misunderstood and, as a result, stigmatized.

From The Daily Beast

But what blame to her if she misunderstood the question, if she read in it the very words her heart was longing to hear from him?

From Project Gutenberg

Woman is a saintly and noble creature, but almost always misunderstood, and nearly always misjudged because she is misunderstood.

From Project Gutenberg

Unless this double mainspring is known, the conduct of Catherine de' Medici will remain forever misunderstood.

From Project Gutenberg

The following can hardly be understood at all, but in its original condition it is so clear that it cannot be misunderstood.

From Project Gutenberg

His pleading eye was too obvious to be misunderstood, and by questioning the child, the whole was soon explained.

From Project Gutenberg