verb
misunderstand
mihs-uhn-duh-STAND
verb
1
To understand something incorrectly.
"I think you misunderstood what I meant."
"It's easy to misunderstand sarcasm in a text message."
How to Use Misunderstand
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo get the wrong idea about what someone said or meant.
Common pairings
easily misunderstood
misunderstand a joke
Word Forms
misunderstood past tense, misunderstands singular
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It's easy to _____ sarcasm in a text message.
Etymology
From mis- ("wrongly") plus understand.