misread

/mɪsˈɹiːd/

//mɪsˈɹiːd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"misread" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“misread” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,504. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,504
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To read wrongly; misconstrue; misinterpret; mistake the sense or significance of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-misread · misread · English

misread · rank #30,504 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,504
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mindanao

Nearest frequency peer: Mindanao (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “misread”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “misread” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

misread vs missed
71% similar
misread vs mired
71% similar
misread vs misled
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for misread
PropertyValue
Headwordmisread
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/mɪsˈɹiːd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#30,504
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “misread”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).misreadlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Mindanao” (#30,503), “Millwall” (#30,502), “Mme” (#30,506). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “misread” is #30,504. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around misread (IPA /mɪsˈɹiːd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #30,504 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To read wrongly; misconstrue; misinterpret; mistake the sense or significance of.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for misread, with forms such as "imsread", "mirsead", and "miserad". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "missed", "mired", "misled", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English misreden, from Old English misrǣdan (“to advise wrongly; read wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + read. Cognate with Saterland Frisian misräide (“to go wrong, fail”), Dutch misraden (“to guess wrongly”), German missraten (“to fail; go wrong;… The correct English form is misread, spelled M-I-S-R-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To read wrongly; misconstrue; misinterpret; mistake the sense or significance of.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how misread appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In the circumstances the Inspecting Officer concludes that the electric train motorman, despite his assertions to the contrary, misread the up main relief inner home signal for his own and ran past the up main through inner home signal at danger; he must therefore be held responsible for the accident.
  2. Now I'm in / over my head, with something I said. / Completely misread I'm better off dead.

Etymology

From Middle English misreden, from Old English misrǣdan (“to advise wrongly; read wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + read. Cognate with Saterland Frisian misräide (“to go wrong, fail”), Dutch misraden (“to guess wrongly”), German missraten (“to fail; go wrong; become wayward”). For the noun, compare Old English misrǣd (“misguidance; misconduct”).

This word in other languages

malinterpretar(Español)missverstehen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imsread
  • mirsead
  • miserad
  • misraed
  • misreadd
  • misreda
  • misrread
  • missread
  • mmisread
  • msiread

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of misread - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

imsread2mirsead2miserad2misraed2misreadd1misreda2misrread1missread1
Edit distance from "misread"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "misread"?
"misread" is spelled M-I-S-R-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪsˈɹiːd/.
What does "misread" mean?
As a verb, "misread" means: To read wrongly; misconstrue; misinterpret; mistake the sense or significance of.
What words are commonly confused with "misread"?
"misread" is commonly confused with "missed", "mired", "misled". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "misread"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misread" is /mɪsˈɹiːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "misread"?
From Middle English misreden, from Old English misrǣdan (“to advise wrongly; read wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + read. Cognate with Saterland Frisian misräide (“to go wrong, fail”), Dutch misraden (“to guess wrongly”), German missraten (“to fail;... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "misread", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McClure#30,497nitrous#30,513Madeira#30,488limping#30,482

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

overpass10 variantspaprika10 variantsPfeiffer10 variantsprofane10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list