misspeak
verb
mis·speak
ˌmis-ˈspēk 
misspoke
ˌmis-ˈspōk
; misspoken
ˌmis-ˈspō-kən
; misspeaking
; misspoken
ˌmis-ˈspō-kən
; misspeaking
1
: to speak (something, such as a word) incorrectly
2
: to express (oneself) imperfectly or incorrectly
claims now that he misspoke himself
: to speak incorrectly : misspeak oneself
Examples of misspeak in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These leaders don’t merely lie or misspeak or make light of life and death.
—
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Dear Annie: Here is another perspective on the hyperaccurate person who corrects everyone who misspeaks.
—Annie Lane, oregonlive, 19 May 2020
In interviews, some voters said Mr. Gantz reminded them of Yitzhak Rabin, who also could misspeak and appear embarrassed when facing the news media.
—David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2019
The fact is that Donald Trump, as someone who misspeaks constantly, deliberately, through lack of knowledge, through lies, other kinds of problems, is the standard that whoever is the Democratic nominee is going to run against.
—NBC News, 1 Sep. 2019
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Dear Annie: Here is another perspective on the hyperaccurate person who corrects everyone who misspeaks.
—Annie Lane, oregonlive, 19 May 2020
In interviews, some voters said Mr. Gantz reminded them of Yitzhak Rabin, who also could misspeak and appear embarrassed when facing the news media.
—David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2019
The fact is that Donald Trump, as someone who misspeaks constantly, deliberately, through lack of knowledge, through lies, other kinds of problems, is the standard that whoever is the Democratic nominee is going to run against.
—NBC News, 1 Sep. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misspeak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near misspeak
Cite this Entry
“Misspeak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misspeak. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share