misconstrue

[ mis-kuhn-strooor, especially British, mis-kon-stroo ]

verb (used with object)

, mis·con·strued, mis·con·stru·ing.

1. to misunderstand the meaning of; take in a wrong sense; misinterpret.

   Synonyms: misjudge, misapprehend, misread

misconstrue

/ ˌmɪskənˈstruː /

verb

1. tr to interpret mistakenly

Word History and Origins

Origin of misconstrue¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; mis- ¹, construe

Example Sentences

It’s easy to misconstrue the ex-president’s comment in Ohio given his incoherence and history as well as the media’s biases.

From Los Angeles Times

Swain emphasized that he didn’t want any surfers to misconstrue the intensity of the storm.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump's claims against James are "trying to misconstrue" her attendance at public White House events "as secret meetings to engage in a conspiracy" against him, Reid began.

From Salon

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates aren’t participating, the former because it doesn’t want to do anything the Houthis could misconstrue as an aggression.

From Seattle Times

“Unable to find any wrongdoing there, you’ve purposefully chosen to misconstrue benign transactions between family members that occurred when President Biden was neither in office nor a candidate for office in order to push a false political narrative to harm the President.”

From Washington Times

Related Words

• distort
• exaggerate
• misinterpret
• misread
• misunderstand
• pervert