Misunderstood

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌmɪs.ʌn.dəˈstʊd/

Definitions

1. To be conveyed in a manner that does not reflect the true intention or message
2. Received or interpreted inaccurately, leading to a failure to grasp the intended meaning
3. Failed to be correctly comprehended, causing a misunderstanding of the original idea

Etymology: "Misunderstood" is the past tense and past participle of "misunderstand," so the real story belongs to the verb. "Misunderstand" was formed in Middle English from "mis-," a prefix meaning "wrongly" or "badly," and "understand." The prefix attaches to many English verbs, such as "mistake," "misjudge," and "misspell," and "understand" itself is an old native formation, with "under" in a sense close to "among" or "between" joined to "stand" in the sense of "grasp." The combination is transparent: to misunderstand is to grasp something wrongly. Because the prefix is so productive, speakers could coin such a verb whenever they needed one, which explains why English has so many "mis-" pairs that mirror their base verbs.

Synonyms: misinterpreted, misread, miscomprehended

Antonyms: understood, comprehended