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to misdescribe

to misdescribe

1 6.3
Say something about a person or thing that is not correct
  • verb
  • /ˌmɪs.dɪˈskraɪb/
translation icon : describir incorrectamente
  • It's frustrating when people misdescribe my ideas instead of addressing them directly.

Examples

  • I remember bristling as I heard our materials misdescribed.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In saying why he is "so suspicious" of my view, Garfield misdescribes it.

    Academic text (2016)
  • But in the sign he'll post, he'll probably misdescribe the answering machine because he still doesn't really know what it is and will not receive any responses.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • That both conflicts are frequently misdescribed points again to the under-theorized character of secession.

    Blog text (17)
  • Hence, in Augustine, as in Longinus, we find the forerunner of what is often misdescribed as a distinctly modern view of style.

    Academic text (1992)
  • The article misdescribes the company's financial situation, leading many to believe it is struggling.

  • If he continues to misdescribe the project, the team will struggle to understand its true goals.

Synonyms

to misrepresent
vsto misdescribe
71 6.9

Give a false story about someone or something to trick people

is wrong without suggesting deliberate deception
to misstate
vsto misdescribe
14 6.2

To say or report something that is not correct

is a wrong description rather than a reporting error
to mischaracterize
vsto misdescribe
  • US
10 8.0

To describe a person or thing unfairly

is incorrect without implying a misleading portrayal

How Accurate

to describe
1.0
to misdescribe
1 6.3

Surface Forms

misdescribe infinitive
misdescribed past participle
misdescribing present participle
misdescribes third person singular

Morphology

misdescribe = describe (transparent) = mis + describe

The prefix 'mis-' meaning 'wrongly' combines productively with 'describe', yielding an obvious meaning 'describe incorrectly'.

Etymology

The word misdescribe joins the part mis- meaning 'wrong' with describe, which comes from the same root as scribe meaning 'to write'. So, misdescribe means to 'describe something incorrectly'.