INDEX:
not correct
1. information/numbers/calculations etc
2. beliefs/ideas/actions etc
3. to believe something that is wrong
4. in the wrong position
not reasonable or necessary
5. not reasonable or necessary
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ RIGHT
not suitable : ↑ SUITABLE
see also
↑ MISTAKE
↑ STUPID/SILLY
◆◆◆
1. information/numbers/calculations etc
▷ wrong /rɒŋǁrɔːŋ/ [adjective]
not correct :
▪ For every answer that is wrong, you lose five points.
▪ I think that clock must be wrong showing the wrong time .
get something wrong
▪ You must have got my email address wrong.
wrong (telephone) number/address/name etc
▪ I tried to phone him, but it was the wrong number.
▪ This must be the wrong address -- no one of that name lives here
wrong/wrongly [adverb]
▪ You’ve spelled my name wrong -- there should be an ‘e’ at the end.
▪ I think you’ve added it up wrongly.
▷ incorrect /ˌɪnkəˈrekt◂/ [adjective]
facts, figures, answers etc that are incorrect are wrong because they are not the same as the correct ones :
▪ The information about current prices was incorrect.
▪ incorrect spelling
▪ They discovered later that the doctor had made an incorrect diagnosis.
it is incorrect to do/say something
▪ It’s simply incorrect to say that tobacco advertising does not influence young people.
incorrectly [adverb]
▪ If a player answers incorrectly, the question is given to the other team.
▷ misleading /mɪsˈlɪːdɪŋ/ [adjective]
a statement or piece of information that is misleading makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts :
▪ The article was deliberately misleading, and the newspaper has apologized.
▪ misleading statistics
▪ The Advertising Review Board says the adverts are deliberately misleading.
give a misleading impression/statement etc
▪ Agents often gave a false or misleading description of the houses they were selling.
▷ inaccurate /ɪnˈækjɑrɪt, ɪnˈækjɑrət/ [adjective]
information, numbers etc that are inaccurate are not exactly right or contain some mistakes :
▪ The old maps were usually inaccurate or incomplete.
▪ TV ratings figures are often inaccurate.
▪ He admitted he had given the committee ‘inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable information’.
totally/wildly inaccurate
very inaccurate
▪ Figures quoted in the article are wildly inaccurate.
▷ bad /bæd/ [adjective]
bad grammar/English/Italian etc
not spoken or written correctly :
▪ You will lose marks for bad grammar in the exam.
▪ Robert ordered two beers in very bad Spanish.
▪ Masanori is the worst student in the class -- his spelling’s bad and his grammar’s terrible.
▷ be out British /be off American /biː ˈaʊt, biː ˈɒf/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a measurement, result, figure etc is out, it is wrong because the numbers have not been calculated correctly :
▪ These sales figures must be out. We certainly haven’t made that much money this year.
be out by $10/50 centimetres etc
▪ My last bank statement was off by $60.
▷ be way off the mark /biː ˈweɪ ɒf ðə ˌmɑːʳk/ [verb phrase]
if someone’s guess, opinion etc is way off the mark, their idea about a situation is completely wrong :
▪ No, you’re way off the mark -- he was born in 1736.
2. beliefs/ideas/actions etc
▷ wrong /rɒŋǁrɔːŋ/ [adjective]
▪ People used to believe that the world was flat, but we now know this is wrong.
▪ Alice felt she had made the wrong decision.
get the wrong impression
▪ I wouldn’t like you to get the wrong impression -- I do enjoy the course, but I just find it very hard work.
▷ mistaken /mɪˈsteɪkən, məˈsteɪkən/ [adjective only before noun]
mistaken idea/belief/impression etc
an idea, belief etc that people believe is right but is in fact wrong - use this as a polite way of saying someone is wrong :
▪ Many people have the mistaken idea that AIDS cannot spread through heterosexual sex.
under the mistaken belief/impression etc
▪ Pauline was under the mistaken impression that I didn’t like her.
▷ false /fɔːls/ [adjective]
based on wrong ideas or incorrect information :
▪ He gave false and misleading statements to the court.
▪ My mother avoided visiting Bali on the quite false assumption that the place is full of tourists.
give a false impression/belief
▪ The title gives a false impression of what the book is actually about.
▷ erroneous /ɪˈrəʊniəs/ [adjective] formal
based on incorrect or incomplete information :
▪ There were erroneous reports that the company had issued false statements.
erroneous assumption/view/belief etc
▪ Ricci’s book tries to correct this erroneous view of ancient China.
erroneously [adverb]
▪ It is sometimes erroneously believed that cutting interest rates will cure all our economic problems.
▷ misplaced /ˌmɪsˈpleɪst◂/ [adjective]
misplaced trust/loyalty/admiration/concern etc
trust, loyalty etc that is wrong because there is no good reason for feeling it :
▪ Richards said, with misplaced confidence, that the ship was ‘unsinkable’.
▪ I suppose her chief fault was misplaced trust, rather than any real crime.
(do something out of) a sense of misplaced loyalty/admiration etc
▪ Despite her doubts, she supported the new legislation out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to the leadership.
▷ misguided /mɪsˈgaɪdɪd, mɪsˈgaɪdəd/ [adjective]
done with good intentions but based on information or an idea that is wrong :
▪ These decision now seem misguided, if not downright wrong.
misguided efforts/attempt/action etc
▪ It was another of his misguided attempts to save money.
(do something in the) misguided belief/hope
▪ The taxes were introduced in the misguided belief that they would reduce foreign competition.
▷ wrongheaded /ˌrɒŋˈhedɪd◂, ˌrɒŋˈhedəd◂ǁˌrɔːŋ-/ [adjective]
wrong and a little stupid, because of being based on a lack of understanding :
▪ The young man’s speech was full of wrongheaded ideas about ‘the evils of capitalism’.
▪ wrongheaded economic policies
3. to believe something that is wrong
▷ be wrong /biː ˈrɒŋǁ-ˈrɔːŋ/ [verb phrase]
if you are wrong, you think or say something that is not correct :
▪ I thought a holiday in Greece would be cheap, but I was wrong.
▪ Maybe I’m wrong, but I could have sworn the class was at 9.30 a.m.
▪ Why won’t he admit he was wrong?
be wrong about
▪ You were wrong about that train - it left at 10.30.
be wrong in thinking/believing etc something
▪ You’d be wrong in thinking we don’t encourage disabled students to come to the college.
▷ be mistaken /biː mə̇ˈsteɪkən/ [verb phrase] formal
to have an incorrect opinion or belief about something - use this as a polite way of saying someone is wrong :
▪ I thought it was an accident, but I was mistaken.
be mistaken about
▪ Anna realised she had been mistaken about Dennis.
you must be mistaken
▪ I think you must be mistaken. He could not have obtained a key to your room.
▷ be misinformed /biː ˌmɪsɪnˈfɔːʳmd/ [verb phrase]
to be wrong because you have been given information that is incorrect or untrue :
▪ I think you must have been misinformed -- we don’t teach any courses in business studies here.
be misinformed about
▪ The documents clearly show that the public was misled and misinformed about the crisis.
▷ be on the wrong track/tack /biː ɒn ðə ˌrɒŋ ˈtræk, ˈtækǁ-ˌrɔːŋ-/ [verb phrase]
to have the wrong idea about a situation, so that you are unlikely to get the result you want or the right answer to a problem :
▪ I feel that this advertising campaign is on completely the wrong tack.
get somebody off on the wrong tack/track
▪ He admitted that he had gotten us off on the wrong tack, and that we’d need to start again.
▷ kid/delude yourself /ˈkɪd, dɪˈluːd jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase]
to wrongly and stupidly let yourself believe something that you want to believe, but which is not true :
▪ He’s kidding himself if he thinks he’s going to be a great film director.
▪ Don’t delude yourself. They have no intention of offering you a job.
4. in the wrong position
▷ wrong /rɒŋǁrɔːŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
▪ Someone had moved the road sign so it was pointing in the wrong direction.
▪ You’re heading in the wrong direction for the city centre.
▪ The files had been put back in the wrong order.
▷ the wrong way around also the wrong way round British /ðə ˌrɒŋ weɪ əˈraʊnd, ðə ˌrɒŋ weɪ ˈraʊndǁ-ˌrɔːŋ-/ [adverb]
if something is the wrong way around, it is pointing in the opposite direction to the one it should be pointing in :
▪ Tom often writes ‘b’ and ‘d’ the wrong way round.
▪ That hat looks a bit strange -- have you got it on the wrong way around?
▪ The torch won’t work if you put the batteries in the wrong way round.
▷ back to front British also backwards British /backward American /ˌbæk tə ˈfrʌnt, ˈbækwəʳdz/ [adverb]
if something, especially a piece of clothing, is back to front, the back of it is where the front should be :
▪ You’ve got your sweater on back to front.
▪ Dan appeared in jeans, wearing his cap backward as usual.
▷ inside out /ˌɪnsaɪd ˈaʊt/ [adverb]
if something, especially a piece of clothing, is inside out, the inside of it is on the outside and the outside of it is on the inside :
▪ I put my socks on inside out by mistake.
▪ The wind was so strong, it blew her umbrella inside out.
turn something inside out
▪ I turned the jeans inside out to repair the hem.
▷ upside down /ˌʌpsaɪd ˈdaʊn/ [adverb]
if something is upside down, the top of it is at the bottom and the bottom of it is at the top :
▪ You’re holding the picture upside down.
▪ The monkey was hanging upside down from a tree.
turn something upside down
▪ Turn the cups upside down and leave them to dry.
5. not reasonable or necessary
▷ wrong /rɒŋǁrɔːŋ/ [adjective]
▪ I don’t deny that what I did was wrong, but I had no choice at the time.
▪ Do you think violence is always wrong, even in self-defence?
wrong with
▪ There’s nothing wrong with making money, is there?
be wrong (of somebody) to do something
▪ It is wrong to treat people this way -- they should be given a chance to defend themselves.
▪ It was wrong of Sophie to take the money without asking.
wrongly [adverb]
▪ Rightly or wrongly, employees see ‘performance pay raises’ as unfair.
▪ The police chief admitted that some prisoners had been wrongly punished.
▷ unjustified /ʌnˈdʒʌstɪfaɪd, ʌnˈdʒʌstəfaɪd/ [adjective]
something such as criticism or bad treatment of someone that is unjustified is unfair and cannot be shown to have a good reason :
▪ Many disabled people suffer from unjustified discrimination when they apply for jobs.
▪ Brian has the reputation, unjustified in my opinion, of being a bit of a bore.
totally/completely unjustified
▪ I think your criticisms of Mr Ward are completely unjustified.
▷ unjustifiable /ʌnˈdʒʌstɪfaɪəb ə l, ʌnˈdʒʌstəfaɪəb ə l/ [adjective]
not fair, reasonable, or true :
▪ It is morally unjustifiable to punish a whole class for the actions of one or two of its members.
▪ unjustifiable accusations
▷ unreasonable /ʌnˈriːz ə nəb ə l/ [adjective]
unreasonable demands, requests, orders etc are unfair and not based on any good reason :
▪ I think your attitude is most unreasonable.
▪ I don’t think the amount of homework they get is unreasonable.
▪ Even the most caring parents will sometimes make unreasonable demands on their children.
it is unreasonable to do something
▪ Don’t you think it’s a little unreasonable to charge someone $75 just for parking their car?
unreasonably [adverb]
▪ Some investors had unreasonably high expectations of the new dotcom companies.
▷ unwarranted /ʌnˈwɒrəntɪd, ʌnˈwɒrəntədǁ-ˈwɔː-, -ˈwɑː-/ [adjective]
an unwarranted action or criticism is not deserved and is not based on any good reason :
▪ Many sportsmen and women consider random drug-testing to be an unwarranted invasion of their privacy.
▪ His attorney called the punishment ‘excessively severe’ and ‘unwarranted’.
unwarranted assumptions/beliefs/conclusions
▪ He warned members of the public not to jump to any unwarranted conclusions about the tragedy.
▷ gratuitous /grəˈtjuːɪtəs, grəˈtjuːətəsǁ-ˈtuː-/ [adjective]
done for no good reason and causing unnecessary harm or offence :
▪ He has criticised the film industry for its use of gratuitous sex and violence.
▪ There’s no point in exchanging gratuitous insults with them.
gratuitously [adverb]
▪ A lot of the jokes were just gratuitously offensive.
▷ unprovoked /ˌʌnprəˈvəʊkt◂/ [adjective]
an unprovoked attack or criticism is directed at someone who did nothing to deserve it :
▪ A man died in an apparently unprovoked attack in central Oxford last night.
▪ Troops have been accused of unprovoked aggression against innocent civilians.
▷ without good reason /wɪðaʊt ˌgʊd ˈriːz ə n/ [adverb]
if someone does something without good reason, they do not have a good reason for doing it, and this may lead to trouble or punishment :
▪ Anyone who is late without good reason will be punished.
▪ An employer is unlikely to dismiss an employee without good reason.