Misunderstand

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/

Definitions

1. To fail in comprehending the true meaning or intent of something communicated by another person
2. To inaccurately interpret what is conveyed by someone in communication, resulting in a distortion of the intended meaning or message
3. To incorrectly interpret what someone says or intends by not fully grasping the meaning

Etymology: "Misunderstand" is a plain compound: the prefix "mis-", meaning "wrongly" or "badly", attached to the verb "understand". The prefix comes from Old English, where it carried the sense of "wrong" or "amiss", and it was used productively to build verbs like "misdo" and "mislead". The Middle English form "mys-understanden" shows the two parts still visibly joined, with "understand" meaning to grasp the sense of something. The combination is transparent in a way many English words are not: to misunderstand is to take in the sense of something but get it wrong. Its meaning therefore follows directly from its parts, with no later twist of sense to trace. The word's history is largely the history of its two components, each of which has a long life in English before they were joined.

Synonyms: misinterpret, misread, confuse, mistake, misconstrue

Antonyms: understand, comprehend, grasp, perceive, discern