misappreciation

English

Etymology

mis- +‎ appreciation

Noun

misappreciation (countable and uncountable, plural misappreciations)

1. A failure to correctly and completely understand; an incorrect notion or belief that is a result of such a failure.

   It is the duty of the individual juror to strive to avoid any misappreciation of the evidence, no matter how it is represented by the barristers.

   Although he claims to be a postmodernist, his misappreciation of the philosophy is such that he still clings to the idea of absolute truth.

   • 1849, Alexis de Tocqueville, Correspondence & Conversations of Alexis de Tocqueville with Nassau William Senior from 1834 to 1859, Vol. 2‎^[1]:

     I accuse you rather of misappreciation than of misstatement.

   • 1995, Alan J. Levine, The United States and the Struggle for Southeast Asia, 1945-1975‎^[2], page 128:

     The notion that keeping half a million men in South Vietnam indefinitely was a credible posture must be one of the most laughable misappreciations of the war.

2. (dated) An observed failure to appreciate the proper worth of a person, an act or a thing.
   • 1871, William Dean Howells, Their Wedding Journey‎^[3]:

     "He might not have meant to ignore her," answered Isabel thoughtfully; "he might have chosen not to introduce her because he felt too proud of her to subject her to any possible misappreciation from them."

   • 1909, Anna Katharine Green, The Forsaken Inn‎^[4]:

     But it is the lot of goodness and truth ever to meet with misappreciation and disdain.

Synonyms

• (failure to understand): misunderstanding, misapprehension; error, mistake
• (failure to appreciate): scorn, disdain, despisement

Related terms

• disappreciation
• misappreciate