Mischaracterizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Represents or describes something or someone in a false or misleading way
2. Gives a wrong impression by presenting details incorrectly or unfairly
3. Depicts or explains something in a manner that does not reflect the true nature

Etymology: Strip away the prefix and the core is "characterize," which goes back to the Greek "charaktēr," a tool for scratching or engraving marks. The word for the impressed mark itself later came to mean a distinguishing feature, and that sense of a stamp that sets something apart is what survives in phrases like "a person of good character." The prefix "mis-" is an old English element meaning "wrongly" or "badly," as in "misjudge" and "misread." Attached to "characterize," it produces a verb for describing something's distinguishing qualities inaccurately, giving a false impression of what a thing or person is really like.

Synonyms: misrepresents, misdescribes, distorts, falsifies, mislabels

Antonyms: accurately describes, characterizes, defines, labels, depicts