misread

Definition

To read wrongly; misconstrue; misinterpret; mistake the sense or significance of.

Etymology

From Middle English misreden, from Old English misrǣdan (“to advise wrongly; read wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + read. Cognate with Saterland Frisian misräide (“to go wrong, fail”), Dutch misraden (“to guess wrongly”), German missraten (“to fail; go wrong; become wayward”). For the noun, compare Old English misrǣd (“misguidance; misconduct”).

Example Sentences

• "In the circumstances the Inspecting Officer concludes that the electric train motorman, despite his assertions to the contrary, misread the up main relief inner home signal for his own and ran past the up main through inner home signal at danger; he must therefore be held responsible for the accident."
• "Now I'm in / over my head, with something I said. / Completely misread I'm better off dead."
• "Yet her obsession with remaining inscrutable has the curious effect of making her also unable to read others—for example, she misses entirely the subversive humor of the black garage mechanic, Jimmy, with whom she deals every day, uncertain whether he is "shy or dimwitted" (19). Similarly, she misreads her one black colleague, Pompey, whom she wrongly believes has sabotaged the elevator she is accused of having misinspected."