as in to misstate
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Recent Examples of misspeak
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspeak
Verb
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Correction: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story misstated the name of the hospital where Lindsay Clancy is being treated.—
John R. Ellement,
BostonGlobe.com,
1 May 2023
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An earlier version of this article misstated Emily Busch’s position.—
Chuck Todd,
NBC News,
18 Apr. 2023
Verb
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In an interview, Mr. Martin said his view was being badly misinterpreted.—
Shane Goldmacher,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
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As the moon and Jupiter clash, be aware of your tone and presentation to avoid being misinterpreted.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The firm has accused him of misrepresenting his role, and Fishback is countersuing for defamation.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
21 Feb. 2025
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Fact check: Post misrepresents satirical petition as $1 trillion offer for California Heusgen debunked the claim in the Facebook post in a Feb. 17 X post, explaining that his show of emotion was related to his retirement as chairman, not Vance's statements.—
Hannah Hudnall,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Thereafter, the appearance of a triangle will become increasingly distorted until finally on April 9, Mars, Pollux and Castor will again appear in a straight line.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
17 Feb. 2025
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In that way, uncertainty is like a tax, distorting decisions and making the economy as a whole less efficient.—
Ben Casselman,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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SecNav’s just a big fan, and that message got garbled in a chain-of-command game of telephone.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
11 Feb. 2025
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Without such compatibility, data can be garbled or lost when moving from the radio to the baseband unit, or vice versa.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Apr. 2021
Verb
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Details About Trump's Hush Money Case In May 2024, a New York jury found Trump, guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before his first presidential election in 2016.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
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Bove is a former federal prosecutor who was part of Trump's defense team in the New York state criminal trial where he was convicted of falsifying business records, as well as federal cases in Florida and Washington.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Add sweet potato; cover and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown and tender, stirring occasionally.—
Angelica Stabile,
Fox News,
23 Feb. 2025
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Her mother, constantly cooking and battling stomach pain, sometimes vanishes before dawn.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Putin’s constant lies and dissembling undermined his credibility to international interlocutors, such as President Emmanuel Macron of France.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Sep. 2022
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Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Misspeak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspeak. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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