Misconception

Misconception

Noun · /ˌmɪs.kənˈsep.ʃən/

Definition

A false or mistaken belief or understanding; an incorrect idea about something, typically based on faulty reasoning, incomplete information, or cultural myth.

Origin

From mis- (wrongly) + conception (a concept, understanding, or idea, from Latin conceptio, from concipere, to conceive — literally to take together, from con- together + capere to take or seize). The word thus means a wrong conception — an idea or understanding that has been formed incorrectly. In English from the 17th century. The related word misconceive (to form an incorrect understanding) is also from the 17th century.