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Misheard: meaning, definitions and examples

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misheard

 

[ ˌmɪsˈhɜrd ]

Verb
Context #1 | Verb

communication error

Misheard refers to the act of incorrectly hearing something that was said. This often leads to misunderstandings, as the person who misheard may interpret the faulty information in a way that differs from its original intent. Mishearing can occur due to various factors such as background noise, accents, or unfamiliar phrases. It is a common phenomenon in conversation, especially in casual settings or among people with different linguistic backgrounds.

Synonyms

misconstrue, misinterpret, mistake

Examples of usage

  • I misheard her name during the introduction.
  • He misheard the instructions and ended up taking the wrong train.
  • They misheard the lyrics and started singing the wrong words.
  • I think you misheard what I said about the meeting.

Translations

Translations of the word "misheard" in other languages:

🇵🇹 mal-entendido

🇮🇳 गलत सुनना

🇩🇪 missverstanden

🇮🇩 salah dengar

🇺🇦 неправильно почутий

🇵🇱 źle usłyszane

🇯🇵 聞き間違い

🇫🇷 mal entendu

🇪🇸 malinterpretado

🇹🇷 yanlış anlama

🇰🇷 잘못 들은

🇸🇦 سماع خاطئ

🇨🇿 špatně slyšené

🇸🇰 nesprávne počuté

🇨🇳 听错

🇸🇮 narobe slišano

🇮🇸 misskilning

🇰🇿 қате есту

🇬🇪 მიუღებელი გაგება

🇦🇿 səhv eşitmək

🇲🇽 malentendido

Word origin

The term 'misheard' is derived from the prefix 'mis-' meaning wrong or badly, combined with the past participle of the verb 'hear', which has Old English origins. The word 'hear' itself comes from the Proto-Germanic '*hauzijan' and is related to words in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch 'horen' and German 'hören'. As language has evolved, the concept of mishearing has become increasingly relevant, especially with the growth of informal communication and the diversity of languages in use today. The phenomenon reflects the challenges of human auditory perception and the potential for distortion in verbal communication.

Word Frequency Rank

Ranking #36,665, this word is encountered relatively rarely in everyday English. It might appear in literary works or specialized texts but isn't essential for general communication.