mispronounce

[ mis-pruh-nouns ]

verb (used with or without object)

, mis·pro·nounced, mis·pro·nounc·ing.

1. to pronounce incorrectly.

mispronounce

/ ˌmɪsprəˈnaʊns; ˌmɪsprəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən /

verb

1. to pronounce (a word) wrongly

Derived Forms

• mispronunciation, noun

Other Words From

• mispro·nouncer noun
• mis·pro·nun·ci·a·tion [mis-pr, uh, -nuhn-see-, ey, -sh, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mispronounce¹

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

Example Sentences

My name was mispronounced my entire childhood, and after a few failed attempts to correct it, I stopped trying.

From Vox

While it’s a name that many mispronounce, it’s also one that’s rapidly rising in the comedy charts.

From Ozy

Smith also deliberately mispronounced the names of several Nigerian men’s basketball players on Monday’s episode following the national team’s exhibition upset of Team USA, for which he also apologized Tuesday.

From Washington Post

When people slightly mispronounce words, our minds auto-correct and we hear the word pronounced correctly.

From Nautilus

He’s also repeatedly stressed his “conservative Tennessee values” as a native son of the state and introduced a dark racial undertone to the race by consistently mispronouncing Sethi’s last name as “Set-ee” instead of “Seth-ee.”

From FiveThirtyEight

On Tuesday night, David Letterman titled his Top Ten list "Top Ten Ways to Mispronounce Idina Menzel."

From The Daily Beast

To mispronounce a word because it is misspelt is only indirectly an error of orthoepy.

From Project Gutenberg

There were two lines in it which I am going to mispronounce; but you are not Scotch, so I don't care for you, uncle, darling.

From Project Gutenberg

They acquire a number of new words, which they do not understand and which they persistently mispronounce.

From Project Gutenberg

It is common to hear English-speakers mispronounce the words Buddha and Buddhism.

From Project Gutenberg

As if that were not wild enough, they mispronounce it atrociously.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• garble