misconceived; misconceiving
1
transitive : to form a wrong idea of (something) : misunderstand
To think about poverty as mainly an underclass or minority issue is not only to misconceive it, but also to wall it off and make it alien. Mark Jonathan Harris
… I thought I had misconceived their true characters … Herman Melville
2
intransitive dated : to hold a wrong idea or conception
misconceiver noun
plural misconceivers

Examples of misconceive in a Sentence

misconceived the scope of the nation's financial crisis

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of misconceive was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Misconceive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misconceive. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

misconceive

verb
mis·​con·​ceive
ˌmis-kən-ˈsēv
: to form a wrong or mistaken idea of
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