mis ‧ tak ‧ en /məˈsteɪkən, mɪˈsteɪkən/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adverb : ↑ unmistakably , ↑ mistakenly ; adjective : ↑ mistaken , ↑ unmistakable ; verb : ↑ mistake ; noun : ↑ mistake ]
1 . be mistaken if you are mistaken, you are wrong about something that you thought you knew or saw:
It can’t have been my car. You must be mistaken.
I thought he said 12 o'clock, but I might have been mistaken.
We bought the rug in Turkey, if I’m not mistaken.
2 . mistaken belief/idea/impression/view etc a mistaken belief etc is not correct:
Marijuana has few withdrawal effects, and this has given rise to the mistaken belief that it is not addictive.
—mistakenly adverb
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ wrong not correct or right – used about facts, answers etc, or people:
For every wrong answer, you lose five points.
|
The figure he gave me was wrong.
|
I think you’re wrong about that.
▪ incorrect something that is incorrect is wrong because someone has made a mistake. Incorrect is more formal than wrong :
I’m afraid these prices are incorrect.
|
The doctor had made an incorrect diagnosis.
▪ inaccurate something that is inaccurate is not exactly right and contains mistakes:
inaccurate information
|
inaccurate measurements
|
The old maps were often inaccurate.
▪ false not based on true facts:
Are the following statements true or false?
|
He was accused of giving false information to the police.
▪ untrue [not usually before noun] not based on true facts, especially because someone is lying or guessing:
I can’t believe he said that about me. It’s completely untrue!
|
The allegations were untrue.
▪ misleading a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is wrong, especially because it does not give all the facts:
The article was very misleading.
|
misleading statistics
▪ misguided a misguided decision, belief, action etc is wrong because it is based on bad judgement or understanding:
That decision seems misguided now.
|
It was the consequence of a misguided economic policy.
▪ mistaken wrong – used about ideas and beliefs. Also used about a person being wrong. You’re mistaken sounds more polite and less direct than saying you’re wrong :
She’s completely mistaken if she thinks that I don’t care about her.
|
a mistaken belief