Misrecall

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remember something inaccurately or to recall it in a flawed manner
2. to mistakenly retrieve a memory or piece of information and misrepresent it
3. an instance of failing to accurately remember details, leading to a distortion of truth

Etymology: "Misrecall" is a plain compound: the prefix "mis-", meaning wrongly or badly, attached to "recall," which comes from Latin "recallare," to call back. Put together, a misrecall is a memory that has been called back wrongly, so the details that return no longer match what actually happened. The prefix does most of the work here. "Mis-" is a productive English element that attaches to many verbs and nouns, as in "misread," "misjudge," and "misspell," so "misrecall" follows the same pattern and needs no special coinage story. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: the mind retrieves a memory, but the retrieval goes astray.

Synonyms: misremember, forget, confuse

Antonyms: recall, remember