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# misunderstand

«misunderstand» in Mova's school dictionary: **to understand something wrongly, to get the wrong meaning** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (misunderstand, misunderstands, misunderstood, misunderstanding)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To misunderstand is to understand something wrongly, to get the wrong meaning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#m1)

2) To misunderstand a person is to get the wrong idea about what they mean or what they are like. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English and maths, pupils can misunderstand a question, so they read it twice. In friendships, misunderstanding causes arguments; talking calmly helps. Phrases: "Don't misunderstand me", "I think you misunderstood".

### examples

- I misunderstand the question if I read it too fast. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x1)
- Don't misunderstand me, I like your idea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x2)
- She misunderstood and went to the wrong room. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x3)
- Many people misunderstand how bees make honey. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x4)
- I'm sorry, I misunderstood what you said. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x5)
- If you misunderstand the instructions, ask the teacher. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x6)
- “Ah!” cried the false princess, “why do you misunderstand my tears? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/#x7)

### note

Irregular: misunderstand, misunderstood, misunderstood (like understand). Noun: misunderstanding. The prefix "mis-" means wrongly.

### In the corpora

- [Children who never greet or answer adults are often misunderstood as rude or upset, even when they are only shy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/121-greeting-adults-and-teachers/20/)
- [Messages can be saved, shared and misunderstood, so you never send what you would not say face to face.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/128-guest-at-the-table-and-the-phone/19/)
- [Things heard half through a door are often misunderstood and can be more frightening than the truth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «misunderstand» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/misunderstand/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.