misdescribe

[ mis-di-skrahyb ]

verb (used with or without object)

, mis·de·scribed, mis·de·scrib·ing.

1. to describe incorrectly or falsely.

Other Words From

• mis·de·scrip·tion [mis-di-, skrip, -sh, uh, n], noun
• misde·scriptive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of misdescribe¹

First recorded in 1820–30; mis- ¹ + describe

Example Sentences

At one point, he invoked in his defense—and seemed to misdescribe—a statute about threats among domestic partners, which would seem to have little, if any, relevance to the matter at hand.

From Slate

“To say that ‘The Bell’ is a novel of ideas is to misdescribe it,” A. S. Byatt writes in the introduction to the Penguin Classics edition.

From New York Times

He goes so far as to say the authors “misdescribe their own data,” noting their numbers suggest total deaths during World War I actually decreased with increasing population size.

From Scientific American

Misdescribe, mis-des-krīb′, v.t. to describe falsely.—n.

From Project Gutenberg

In a capacious box immediately opposite the one set aside for royalty the Lady Shalem sat in well-considered prominence, confident that every press critic and reporter would note her presence, and that one or two of them would describe, or misdescribe, her toilet. 

From Project Gutenberg