Mishear

To misunderstand something one has heard; to perceive sounds incorrectly, resulting in a distorted or inaccurate interpretation of spoken words or other audio. This often occurs due to poor acoustics, background noise, a listener's inattention, or similarities in the sounds of different words. Mishearing can lead to humorous situations, communication breakdowns, or incorrect actions based on the misinterpreted information. It emphasizes the auditory aspect of misunderstanding, distinct from visual or written misinterpretations. The context, speaker's accent, and listener's prior knowledge also play a significant role in the likelihood of mishearing. The result can be far from the intended meaning.

Mishear meaning with examples

• During the noisy concert, I thought the singer was yelling, 'Let's eat pigeons!' when in reality, she was singing, 'Let's all be pigeons!' The mishear caused a wave of bewildered laughter from the crowd, a moment of shared absurdity amid the music.
• I completely misheard the instructions. Instead of 'turn left at the gas station,' I thought she said 'turn right at the gas station'. We ended up miles from our destination, causing us to be incredibly late for the appointment.
• The radio signal was crackling so badly that I misheard the weather forecast. Instead of 'sunny with a high of 75,' I understood it as 'stormy with a high of 25'. I was incredibly underprepared for the pleasant conditions.
• My elderly grandmother frequently mishears what people say due to her hearing aid. She often replies with totally unrelated comments because she misunderstood their words. It is important to speak clearly and repeat instructions for her.
• The fast-talking salesman gave a presentation, and I unfortunately misheard a crucial part of the contract. I thought I was getting a free upgrade, but I was instead billed for an extra fee. This oversight ruined my budget for the year.