mishear

She mishears the name of the street and takes a wrong turn.

Definition

1. Verb (transitive and intransitive):
   • To hear incorrectly or mistakenly: "mishear" means to perceive or understand a sound, word, or statement in a way that is not what was actually said or produced. This often leads to a misunderstanding of the intended message.

Usage Examples

• Transitive (with an object):

  • I misheard her name as "Molly" when she said "Polly." (I heard the word "Polly" incorrectly as "Molly.")
  • He misheard the instructions and added too much salt to the recipe. (He understood the spoken directions wrongly.)

• Intransitive (without an object):

  • Sorry, I misheard. Could you repeat that? (I made an error in hearing; please say it again.)
  • If you mishear, you may give the wrong answer. (If you hear incorrectly, your response will be incorrect.)

Advanced Usage

• "to mishear someone": to hear what someone says incorrectly.

  • I think you misheard me; I said "meet" not "meat." (You understood my spoken words wrongly.)

• "to be misheard": used in passive voice to indicate that the hearing error was made by someone else.

  • His joke was misheard as an insult, causing a misunderstanding. (Someone heard his joke incorrectly and thought it was offensive.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mishearing (noun): an instance of hearing incorrectly.

  • That was a terrible mishearing of the announcement. (The act of hearing wrongly led to confusion.)

• Misheard (adjective, past participle): heard incorrectly.

  • The misheard lyric became a popular internet meme. (The lyric that was heard wrongly gained fame.)

Synonyms

• Hear wrong: a simpler, informal synonym.

  • I heard the question wrong and gave a silly answer. (I perceived the question incorrectly.)

• Misunderstand (in auditory context): to interpret a spoken statement incorrectly.

  • He misunderstood her request because he misheard the word "loan" as "lone." (He interpreted her spoken words wrongly due to an error in hearing.)

Related Idioms

• "A misheard word": a phrase emphasizing the specific error in hearing.

  • The misheard word changed the entire meaning of the sentence. (The word that was heard incorrectly altered the message.)

• "To get something wrong" (in hearing): to make an error in understanding what was said.

  • I got his name wrong because I misheard it. (I made a mistake in hearing his name.)