misunderstood

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪs.ʌn.dəˈstʊd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪs.ʌn.dɚˈstʊd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mis‧un‧der‧stood
• Rhymes: -ʊd

Verb

misunderstood

1. simple past and past participle of misunderstand

   Am I misunderstood?

Adjective

misunderstood (comparative more misunderstood, superlative most misunderstood)

1. Not comprehended correctly.

   a misunderstood message

2. Not viewed with sympathy and understanding despite warranting it.

   Near-synonym: underappreciated

   a misunderstood loner who turned to a life of crime

   a misunderstood genius

   • 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “A Second-rate Woman”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 101:

     "He posed as the horror of horrors — a misunderstood man. Heaven knows the femme incomprise is sad enough and bad enough — but the other thing!"

Derived terms

• misunderstoodness

Translations

not comprehended correctly

• Bulgarian: неразбран (bg) (nerazbran)
• Portuguese: incompreendido m
• Romanian: neînțeles (ro) m

Further reading

• “misunderstood”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “be misunderstood”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “misunderstood” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.