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misplaced

misplaced

5 2.8
Not in the right spot when you need it
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɪsˈpleɪst/
translation icon : desubicado
  • After searching for hours, I realized that my keys were simply misplaced on the kitchen counter.

Where one misplaced word doesn't mean that you're going to be raged at or discarded.

Examples

  • The documents were misplaced in the wrong folder, causing delays in the project.

  • And I mean, it seems a bit misplaced given some of the things he says.

  • So you could go off and burn this money with a misplaced faith in the British justice system.

  • I think your anger may be a little misplaced, though.

    Blog text (31)
  • You know, I really struggled a lot with my own misplaced anger.

  • We admire your courage, chief, however misplaced it may be.

  • One might, of course, think that it is misplaced or unfounded.

    Academic text (2000)
  • And as for "being extremely angry," that's a great example of misplaced priorities.

    Blog text (13)
  • In retrospect, their misplaced confidence in their cause seems positively crazy.

    Blog text (24)
  • This is a bunch of veggie hackers with a misplaced sense of their own importance.

Synonyms

lost
vsmisplaced
18 1.0

Not in a person's possession and cannot be found

is used for things temporarily put in the wrong place rather than permanently unrecoverable
mislaid
vsmisplaced
4.7

Temporarily lost because you put it somewhere and forgot where

is often the same idea but emphasises wrong placement not permanent loss

Compounds

misplaced modifier
  • Specialized
8.4

A word or phrase placed so it seems to describe the wrong part of a sentence and confuses the meaning

How Lost

gone
1.0
lost
18 1.0
misplaced
5 2.8
in place
240 1.0

Surface Forms

misplaced positive

Morphology

misplaced = misplace (transparent) = mis + place + ed

Formed from the verb 'misplace' with the regular past-participial/adjectival '-ed', and the meaning follows standard 'mis-' (wrongly) + 'place' pattern.

Etymology

Misplaced comes from the parts mis- meaning 'wrong' and place meaning 'to put'. Like in mistake, mis- shows something is done wrong, so to be misplaced is to be put in the wrong place or temporarily lost.