misquote
/'mis'kwout/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To quote incorrectly: To repeat or copy out words from a text or speech in a way that is not accurate or faithful to the original source. This can involve altering words, omitting context, or attributing words to the wrong person.
Noun:
- An incorrect quotation: A statement or passage that has been inaccurately repeated or cited.
Usage and Examples
Verb:
- The journalist was accused of trying to misquote the scientist to make the findings seem more dramatic.
- It's important not to misquote historical documents when making an argument.
Noun:
- The article contained a serious misquote that distorted the CEO's message.
- She apologized for the misquote in her earlier report.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
Intentional vs. Unintentional: A "misquote" can be either a deliberate act to deceive or manipulate, or an honest mistake due to carelessness or misunderstanding.
- The controversy stemmed from what appeared to be a deliberate misquote.
- I apologize for the unintentional misquote; I transcribed my notes incorrectly.
In Legal and Academic Contexts: Misquoting can have serious consequences, undermining credibility and potentially constituting misconduct.
- The student's thesis was rejected due to several critical misquotes of source material.
Variants and Related Words
- Misquotation (n): A formal synonym for the noun "misquote," meaning an instance of quoting incorrectly.
- The book was criticized for its numerous misquotations.
Synonyms
- Misrepresent: To give a false or misleading account of something (broader than misquote, but can include it).
- Misstate: To state something inaccurately.
- Garble: To reproduce (a message, sound, etc.) in a confused and distorted way.
Antonyms
- Quote accurately: To cite something correctly.
- Paraphrase correctly: To express the meaning of something using different words, without distorting it.
Common Phrases and Collocations
To be misquoted as saying: A common passive construction used when someone claims their words were reported inaccurately.
- The actor was misquoted as saying he was retiring from film.
A glaring misquote: An obvious and significant error in quotation.
- The biography was pulled from shelves after a glaring misquote was discovered.
Noun
- an incorrect quotation
Verb
- quote incorrectly
- He had misquoted the politician