Standard Lemma guide

misconception

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˌmɪs.kənˈsɛp.ʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH0 S K AH0 N S EH1 P SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A mistaken belief, a wrong idea.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • There are several common misconceptions about the theory of relativity.
  • You're obviously under the misconception that I care about your problems.
  • He had the misconception that the word "misconception" meant becoming pregnant with a girl.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an incorrect conception

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: conception

Broader terms: idea, thought

Narrower terms: fallacy, false belief, error, erroneous belief, self-deception, self-deceit, mistake, misunderstanding, misapprehension, illusion, fantasy, phantasy, fancy, delusion, hallucination, mirage, unsoundness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-? Proto-Indo-European *meyth2-der. Proto-Germanic *missaz Proto-Germanic *missa- Proto-West Germanic *missa- Old English mis- Middle English mys- English mis- Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō ▲ Ancient Greek σῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω (sŭllămbắnō)calq. Latin concipiō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin conceptiōlbor. Old French conceptionbor. Middle English concepcioun English conception English misconception From mis- + conception.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: заблуждение (zabluždenie) — a mistaken belief
  • Chinese Mandarin: 錯覺 /错觉 (cuòjué) — a mistaken belief
  • Finnish: väärinkäsitys — a mistaken belief
  • French: idée erronée — a mistaken belief
  • German: Missverständnis — a mistaken belief
  • German: Irrglaube — a mistaken belief
  • German: Fehlannahme — a mistaken belief
  • German: irrige Vorstellung — a mistaken belief
  • German: falsche Auffassung — a mistaken belief
  • Hindi: भ्रम (bhram) — a mistaken belief
  • Hungarian: tévhit — a mistaken belief
  • Italian: convinzione errata — a mistaken belief
  • Italian: luogo comune — a mistaken belief
  • Italian: malinteso — a mistaken belief
  • Italian: pregiudizio — a mistaken belief
  • Kashmiri: بٕرَٛم — a mistaken belief
  • Kashmiri: غلط فیمی (ġlt fēmī) — a mistaken belief
  • Māori: pōhēhētanga — a mistaken belief
  • Norwegian Bokmål: misoppfatning — a mistaken belief
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: misoppfatning — a mistaken belief
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: mistyding — a mistaken belief
  • Plautdietsch: Misvestentniss — a mistaken belief
  • Russian: заблужде́ние (zabluždénije) — a mistaken belief
  • Slovene: zmota — a mistaken belief
  • Spanish: creencia errónea — a mistaken belief
  • Spanish: concepción equivocada — a mistaken belief
  • Spanish: falencia — a mistaken belief
  • Swahili: dhana potofu — a mistaken belief
  • Swedish: missuppfattning — a mistaken belief