MISUNDERSTANDING

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does misunderstanding mean? 

• MISUNDERSTANDING (noun)
  The noun MISUNDERSTANDING has 2 senses:

1. putting the wrong interpretation on

2. an understanding of something that is not correct

  Familiarity information: MISUNDERSTANDING used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MISUNDERSTANDING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Putting the wrong interpretation on

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

misinterpretation; mistaking; misunderstanding

Context example:

there was no mistaking her meaning

Hypernyms ("misunderstanding" is a kind of...):

interpretation (an explanation that results from interpreting something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "misunderstanding"):

imbroglio (a very embarrassing misunderstanding)

misconstrual; misconstruction (a kind of misinterpretation resulting from putting a wrong construction on words or actions (often deliberately))

misreading (misinterpretation caused by inaccurate reading)

Derivation:

misunderstand (interpret in the wrong way)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An understanding of something that is not correct

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

misapprehension; mistake; misunderstanding

Context example:

there must be some misunderstanding--I don't have a sister

Hypernyms ("misunderstanding" is a kind of...):

misconception (an incorrect conception)

Derivation:

misunderstand (interpret in the wrong way)

 Context examples 

I certainly have been misunderstanding you, if you feel in doubt as to the purport of your answer.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I believe there were some misunderstandings between them.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

We should have said Pray do not invite us, at any time; and all possibility of misunderstanding would have been avoided.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It was misunderstood for fear, and such misunderstandings made for death.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

We can only deeply regret this unfortunate misunderstanding, and assure you of our unfailing regard.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Major Murphy, to whom I owe most of my facts, assures me that he has never heard of any misunderstanding between the pair.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Watch yourself, be the first to ask pardon if you both err, and guard against the little piques, misunderstandings, and hasty words that often pave the way for bitter sorrow and regret.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I am quite uneasy about your dear brother, not having heard from him since he went to Oxford; and am fearful of some misunderstanding.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Being able to accurately identify emotions in others is important for social interaction in general, but particularly so in interracial contexts, which are prone to misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

(White people’s perceptions of the emotions on black people’s faces are less accurate than their perceptions among other white people, University of Granada)

Since Mercury begins its characteristic slowdown far ahead of the onset of its official turnaround to retrograde, you might have started to see delays, postponements, problems with electronics and machines, misunderstandings, and other mix-ups as early as mid-October.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)