Word Direct Answers

What does "mistake" mean?

Mistake: To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand misapprehend, or misconceive; as, to mistake a remark; to mistake one's meaning. Locke. My father's purposes have been mistook. Shak.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To substitute in thought or perception; as, to mistake one person for another. A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it. Johnson.
  2. 3.To have a wrong idea of in respect of character, qualities, etc.; to misjudge. Mistake me not so much, To think my poverty is treacherous. Shak.
  3. 4.To err in knowledge, perception, opinion, or judgment; to commit an unintentional error. Servants mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends. Swift.
  4. 5.An apprehending wrongly; a misconception; a misunderstanding; a fault in opinion or judgment; an unintentional error of conduct. Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake. Tillotson.
  5. 6.(Law) Misconception, error, which when non-negligent may be ground for rescinding a contract, or for refusing to perform it. No mistake, surely; without fail; as, it will happen at the appointed time, and no mistake. [Low] See Blunder.

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