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miscomprehension

miscomprehension

7.9
A failure to understand something correctly
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪsˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃən/
translation icon : malentendido
  • As in the earlier discussions of other studies, it is useful to think in terms of the amount of miscomprehension encountered between two speakers whose functions differ.

Examples

  • But sometimes there's a lot of miscomprehension about the topic.

  • The silence of pain, miscomprehension, and violence.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Throughout his analysis, Caplan provides evidence of both the altruism of voters and their fundamental miscomprehension of policies that result from this altruism.

    Academic text (2014)
  • This occasionally leads to frictions between the manifest narrative and its "real" subtext, which are either covered by the argument of miscomprehension or incomplete perception or attributed to the flaws of Oskar's memory.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Reading this work out of context can only lead to miscomprehension.

  • She realized her miscomprehension of the instructions when she saw the final result.

Synonyms

misunderstanding
vsmiscomprehension
243 1.6

When someone does not understand something correctly and this causes a problem

is the general failure to understand rather than only situational cases
misconception
vsmiscomprehension
75 4.2

An idea that is not true because people understand something wrongly

is the simple failure to understand rather than a reasoned but wrong belief
confusion
vsmiscomprehension
48 1.8

A mistake when one thing is thought to be another

is the direct failure to understand rather than mixing items up
misperception
vsmiscomprehension
12 6.8

A wrong idea about something

is the overall failure to understand rather than a sensory or judgment error
misinterpretation
vsmiscomprehension
11 6.0

A wrong understanding of something that leads to wrong conclusions

is the simple failure to understand rather than the act of explaining it
misapprehension
vsmiscomprehension
5 7.5

A wrong idea about what something means

is the broader failure to understand across contexts rather than one case
incomprehension
vsmiscomprehension
4 6.9

A feeling of not being able to understand something

is the broader idea of failing to understand rather than total inability
misimpression
vsmiscomprehension
3 7.5

A wrong idea someone has about something

is the factual failure to understand rather than a merely misleading impression
misconstruction
vsmiscomprehension
1 8.3

A wrong idea about what someone said or meant

is the general lack of correct understanding rather than deliberate misrepresentation
misconstrual
vsmiscomprehension
9.3

A wrong idea about what someone says or does

is the plain failure to understand, not limited to wording or actions
misprise
vsmiscomprehension
  • Archaic
9.9

A wrong idea about something because a person did not understand it

is the basic inability to understand correctly rather than a formed false belief
misprision
vsmiscomprehension
  • Archaic
9.9

A wrong understanding of what someone wrote or said

is the general failure to understand, not only errors in reporting
noncomprehension
vsmiscomprehension
8.1

A lack of understanding of instructions or ideas

is a failure to understand correctly, not only a complete inability

Antonyms

70 3.0

Ability to understand the meaning of what you read or hear

How Understood

grasp
73 3.6
to understand
1.0
to see
1.0
miscomprehension
7.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

miscomprehension = comprehension (transparent) = mis + comprehension

The prefix 'mis-' (wrong/incorrect) combines directly with 'comprehension' (understanding) to yield 'incorrect understanding', which is obvious to learners who know the parts.

Etymology

Miscomprehension joins mis-, a small word at the start that means 'wrong' or 'not', and comprehend, which means 'understand'. So a miscomprehension is a 'wrong understanding', which is why it means a failure to understand something correctly.