Misunderstand

Misunderstand

Verb · /ˌmɪs.ʌn.dəˈstænd/

Definition

To fail to understand correctly; to interpret wrongly; to have an incorrect or incomplete understanding of what someone has said, meant, or intended.

Origin

From mis- (wrongly) + understand (from Old English understandan, literally to stand among or stand in the midst of — understanding being conceived as standing within or among the things one comprehends, rather than merely observing them from outside). Understand is one of the few English words built from stand, and its metaphor is spatial — comprehension as a kind of interior relationship with what is known. Misunderstand thus means to stand wrongly among or to get the standing wrong. The noun form misunderstanding can also mean a quarrel or disagreement, as well as an instance of failing to understand correctly.