Standard Lemma guide

mishear

verb · 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.

  • /mɪsˈhɪə(ɹ)/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH0 S HH IY1 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To hear wrongly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

Examples

  • I misheard when she asked for mints, and gave her mince instead.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To misunderstand.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English misheren, from Old English mishȳran, mishīeran (“to hear amiss, not listen to, disobey”), equivalent to mis- + hear.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: misverstaan — to hear wrongly
  • Dutch: verkeerd verstaan — to hear wrongly
  • German: sich verhören — to hear wrongly
  • Greek: παρακούω (parakoúo) — to hear wrongly
  • Polish: przesłyszeć się — to hear wrongly
  • Portuguese: ouvir errado — to hear wrongly
  • Russian: ослышаться (oslyšatʹsja) — to hear wrongly
  • Spanish: trasoír — to hear wrongly
  • Swedish: missuppfatta — to hear wrongly
  • Turkish: yanlış duymak — to hear wrongly
  • Dutch: slecht begrijpen — to understand wrongly
  • Dutch: verkeerd begrijpen — to understand wrongly
  • German: missverstehen — to understand wrongly
  • German: sich verhören — to understand wrongly
  • Swedish: missuppfatta — to understand wrongly
  • Swedish: missförstå — to understand wrongly