transitive verb. 1 : to interpret (something, such as a statement or action) wrongly : misinterpret misconstrued her words/meaning/silence He does not want his real name used in the newspaper because even the most innocent statement could be misconstrued here and lead to trouble, he says.—
What is the origin of the word misconstrue?
The verb misconstrue comes from mis- meaning "wrong" and construe meaning "construction." Combined they mean "to put a wrong construction on" — in other words, to interpret in the wrong way.
How do you use misconstrue?
interpret in the wrong way.
- She said Harris had misconstrued her comments.
- Their caution was misconstrued as cowardice.
- You have misconstrued my words.
- His behaviour could easily be misconstrued.
- You have completely misconstrued what I said.
- He deliberately misconstrued everything I said.
