misconstrue

verb

mis·​con·​strue ˌmis-kən-ˈstrü 

misconstrued; misconstruing

transitive verb

1

: to interpret (something, such as a statement or action) wrongly : misinterpret

misconstrued her words/meaning/silence

He does not want his real name used in the newspaper because even the most innocent statement could be misconstrued here and lead to trouble, he says.

—Lynne Duke

I instantly turned away, lest he should see and misconstrue my emotion.

—Anne Brontë

2

: to misinterpret the meaning, intention, or character of (someone)

… it is the post-Vietnam revisionists who have most ironically misconstrued [Herman] Melville.

—Frederick Crews

… a sad sack whom no one would misconstrue as charming.

—Karen Karbo

Synonyms

• misapprehend
• misinterpret
• misknow
• misperceive
• misread
• miss
• mistake
• misunderstand

Examples of misconstrue in a Sentence

claimed that the press had misconstrued her comments

Recent Examples on the Web

Carradine said Head Start is often misconstrued as a daycare center for toddlers. —Christin Lazerus, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025

Online influencers claim the hormone can change your face’s shape, but experts say that misconstrues how cortisol works. —Melinda Wenner Moyer, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025

Devlin also noted that Hoffman never saw anything in Bell’s hand that could have been misconstrued as a firearm. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2025

Yet none of this should be misconstrued as an endorsement of Trump’s tactics. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misconstrue

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

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Kids Definition

misconstrue

verb

mis·​con·​strue

ˌmis-kən-ˈstrü

: to construe wrongly : misinterpret