misconstrue
/mɪskənˈstɹuː/verb
misconstrue is spelled M-I-S-C-O-N-S-T-R-U-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, misconstrue means “To interpret erroneously, to understand incorrectly; to misunderstand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in misconstrue?
| Letters | 11: M-I-S-C-O-N-S-T-R-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is misconstrue?
Misconstrue appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misconstrue?
- UK /mɪskənˈstɹuː/
Misconstrue has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-misconstrue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with misconstrue?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as misconstrue from its last stressed vowel (/u/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: consumerist.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of misconstrue
- misconstrues present, singular, he/she/it
- misconstruing participle, present
- misconstrued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misconstrue mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To interpret erroneously, to understand incorrectly; to misunderstand.
His words were misconstrued as an insult.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misconstrue in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to interpret erroneously:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | fehldeuten, falsch deuten, falsch interpretieren |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misconstrue come from?
From Middle English misconstruen, equivalent to mis- + construe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).