mistaken

[ mi-stey-kuhn ]
/ mɪˈsteɪ kən /

adjective

wrongly conceived, held, or done: a mistaken antagonism.
erroneous; incorrect; wrong: a mistaken answer.
having made a mistake; being in error.

Origin of mistaken

1590–1600; past participle of mistake; see -en3

SYNONYMS FOR mistaken

1 inaccurate, misconceived.

OTHER WORDS FROM mistaken

mis·tak·en·ly, adverb mis·tak·en·ness, noun un·mis·tak·en, adjective

Words nearby mistaken

Definition for mistaken (2 of 2)

mistake
[ mi-steyk ]
/ mɪˈsteɪk /

noun

an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.
a misunderstanding or misconception.

verb (used with object), mis·took, mis·tak·en, mis·tak·ing.

to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else: I mistook him for the mayor.
to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.

verb (used without object), mis·took, mis·tak·en, mis·tak·ing.

to be in error.

Origin of mistake

1300–30; Middle English mistaken (v.) < Old Norse mistaka to take in error. See mis-1, take

SYNONYMS FOR mistake

1 inaccuracy, erratum, fault, oversight. Mistake, blunder, error, slip refer to deviations from right, accuracy, correctness, or truth. A mistake, grave or trivial, is caused by bad judgment or a disregard of rule or principle: It was a mistake to argue. A blunder is a careless, stupid, or gross mistake in action or speech, suggesting awkwardness, heedlessness, or ignorance: Through his blunder the message was lost. An error (often interchanged with mistake ) is an unintentional wandering or deviation from accuracy, or right conduct: an error in addition. A slip is usually a minor mistake made through haste or carelessness: a slip of the tongue.
4 misconceive, misjudge, err.

words often confused with mistake

See misnomer.

OTHER WORDS FROM mistake

mis·tak·er, noun mis·tak·ing·ly, adverb un·mis·tak·ing, adjective un·mis·tak·ing·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mistake

misnomer mistake (see confusables note at misnomer)

Example sentences from the Web for mistaken

British Dictionary definitions for mistaken (1 of 2)

mistaken
/ (mɪˈsteɪkən) /

adjective

(usually predicative) wrong in opinion, judgment, etc she is mistaken
arising from error in judgment, opinion, etc a mistaken viewpoint

Derived forms of mistaken

mistakenly, adverb mistakenness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for mistaken (2 of 2)

mistake
/ (mɪˈsteɪk) /

noun

an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment
a misconception or misunderstanding

verb -takes, -taking, -took or -taken

(tr) to misunderstand; misinterpret she mistook his meaning
(tr foll by for) to take (for), interpret (as), or confuse (with) she mistook his direct manner for honesty
(tr) to choose badly or incorrectly he mistook his path
(intr) to make a mistake in action, opinion, judgment, etc

Derived forms of mistake

mistaker, noun

Word Origin for mistake

C13 (meaning: to do wrong, err): from Old Norse mistaka to take erroneously

Idioms and Phrases with mistaken

mistake