as in to misstate
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Recent Examples of misspeak
The health secretary also appeared to misspeak at the meeting, saying two people had died of the disease.
—
Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
Kennedy also seemed to misspeak in saying two people had died of measles.
—Amanda Seitz, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
The health secretary also appeared to misspeak at the meeting, saying two people had died of the disease.
—Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
These leaders don’t merely lie or misspeak or make light of life and death.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
Kennedy also seemed to misspeak in saying two people had died of measles.
—Amanda Seitz, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
The health secretary also appeared to misspeak at the meeting, saying two people had died of the disease.
—Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025
These leaders don’t merely lie or misspeak or make light of life and death.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
Walz was criticized following the Oct. 1 debate for flubbing an answer about allegedly misspeaking about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
The Kremlin’s propaganda often uses instances of Biden misspeaking as proof of his ineptitude as the man in charge of Ukraine’s top military backer.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 July 2024
Elsewhere, Claude and Angot’s mother, who had Christine out of wedlock and fought to get her father to recognize his child in a legal sense, are both similarly upbraided for misspeaking about Christine’s trauma in subtle ways, or for not being sympathetic in the right way.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024
People are just supposed to like you — you’re not supposed to misspeak, look fat, date the wrong person, have your makeup look a different color.
—Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspeak
Verb
-
An earlier version misstated his status.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2025
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Due to the writer’s error, an earlier version of this story misstated and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s position on greenhouse gas emissions standards.—
Allen Best,
The Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Whether that’s sending a message to the wrong person or having your words misinterpreted by others.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
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Most Canadians want uncomplicated lives, a desire for calm that can be misinterpreted by louder people as meekness.—
Chris Jones,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Corson proceeded to inform the court of Petersen’s previous convictions in 2016 and 2017 when she was charged with misrepresenting herself as her sister when stopped by law enforcement.—
Olivia Estright,
Twin Cities,
2 Apr. 2025
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Milton's conviction came after a short seller called Hindenburg Research alleged in 2020 that the EV maker had misrepresented its technology.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The references to nineteenth-century American literary heroes and ideals may be distorted, but the ideals find an authentic embodiment in these calmly rapturous images of nature.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
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Although some in the media distort the anger directed at Rowling from trans activists, trans people, and allies, the truth is those feelings — not just anger, but betrayal and grief — are justified.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Data-poisoning tools like Nightshade, which can garble some AI outputs, may be a more effective solution for concerned artists.—
Kate Irwin,
PCMAG,
8 Oct. 2024
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SecNav’s just a big fan, and that message got garbled in a chain-of-command game of telephone.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In the ComEd Four case, the four defendants were convicted for falsifying books and records, not any bribery of foreign officials that the law originally sought to punish, the defense pointed out in asking Shah last month to stay the proceedings.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2025
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She was sentenced in October 2014 to 15 months in prison after striking a deal with prosecutors and agreeing to plead guilty to mail, wire and bank fraud for falsifying statements on loan applications.—
Tracy Wright,
Fox News,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The duo will work with one of Hargreave’s longtime colleagues and friends, chef Casey Wall, who most recently spent 15 years cooking in Melbourne, Australia, at spots like Bar Liberty and Above Board.—
Kate Kassin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Apr. 2025
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The figs would cook until their tough outer skin softened and some began to burst open to gently ooze their seedy pulp, thickening the mixture into a grainy, molasses-brown syrup, while other figs remained whole, their thick stems still attached.—
Claude Barilleaux,
Christian Science Monitor,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Kill or Capture Presidency You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.—
Aryeh Neier,
The New York Review of Books,
3 Mar. 2025
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Think about it like dissembling something and then putting it together in a fresh way!—
Quora,
Forbes,
7 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Misspeak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspeak. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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