What does misconstrue mean?
Word: Misconstrue
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Misconstrue means to understand someone's words or actions in the wrong way.
Synonyms: misunderstand, misinterpret, misread
Word origin: Built on construe, which comes from Latin construere.
How do you spell misconstrue?
Syllables: mis - con - strue
Tricky part: The ending sounds as if it could be ew or oo, and misconstrew is a common slip. It closes with ue.
Watch out for: misconstrew, misconstroo
Memory tip: If what you took from a remark is not true, you may have got it wrong: end with the ue of true.
Misconstrue in a sentence
Example 1: Please do not misconstrue my silence as anger; I am only tired.
Example 2: It is easy to misconstrue a joke when you cannot see the speaker's face.
Example 3: The new student's shyness was sometimes misconstrued as pride.
Fun Fact
Construe on its own means to understand words in a certain way, and teachers once used it for working out a Latin sentence word by word.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) relinquish : surrender
b) abate : lessen
c) ponder : consider
d) missconstrue : misread
Show answer
d) missconstrue : misread. The opening part is mis with one s, as in misread beside it.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. miscount 2. misconstrue 3. miscalculate 4. misconception
a) 4321
b) 3241
c) 3412
d) 3421
Show answer
d) 3421. After misc, a comes before o; then among the misco- words n comes before u, and c before s.
Word Tally
Score 2 marks for each correctly spelt word. What is the total score?
misconstrue, acquiesce, miscellanous, misfourtune, mischeivous
a) 4
b) 6
c) 8
d) 2
Show answer
a) 4. Miscellaneous is missing an e, misfortune has a stray u and mischievous has its ie reversed, so only two words score.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ue' pronounced differently?
a) true
b) misconstrue
c) guess
d) clue
Show answer
c) guess. In guess the two letters give a short e sound, not the long oo of the others.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why might a friend misconstrue a short text message?
a) it arrived too early in the morning
b) it was typed in the school library
c) it was sent from a very new phone
d) it has no tone of voice to guide her
Show answer
d) it has no tone of voice to guide her
2. Rohan is quiet at a party because he is nervous, but people think he is bored. What has happened?
a) his manner has been taken wrongly
b) his plans have been changed
c) his voice has become too weak
d) his friends have left him behind
Show answer
a) his manner has been taken wrongly
