1
as in blunders
a wrong judgment
they made a mistake when they thought the young pitcher was ready to be called up to the major leagues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in errors
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
made a mistake on the exam that almost cost her a passing grade
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in misunderstands
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of
the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in underestimates
to make an incorrect judgment regarding
you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easily
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in confuses
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
she mistook physical attraction for love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mistakes
Hector Amezcua, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
These mistakes can sometimes increase the record's value.
—Nina Derwin, Martha Stewart, 30 Apr. 2026
So, learn from making mistakes.
—Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
The difficulty is moving past and learning from the mistakes.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
Finch said immediately after Game 5 that Shannon made numerous mistakes defensively in Game 5, and noted Wednesday the wing has to clean those up.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 29 Apr. 2026
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow managed to navigate his way around six walks, but made two costly mistakes, while the offense struggled against former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who gave up two runs over six innings.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026
Here are seven of those mistakes, along with practical guidance from the experts on how to course-correct.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
After all, fatigue causes mistakes.
—James Ellingworth, Sun Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
Doug Haller, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
In a category that often mistakes complexity and aggression for innovation, this kind of approach is surprisingly rare.
—New Atlas, 19 Apr. 2026
Seasonal allergies happen when the immune system mistakes something harmless in the environment, such as pollen, as a danger, setting off reactions and symptoms that can turn spring from a gift into an ordeal.
—Matt Fuchs, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
In another scene, Peet’s character is asked for an autograph by a young woman who mistakes her for the actor Lake Bell.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Chicken allergies occur when the body's immune system mistakes chicken as a harmful invader, triggering an allergic reaction.
—Lindsey Desoto, Health, 1 Apr. 2026
The market focuses on the median dot and often mistakes it for a plan, even though they are derived from 19 separate forecasts and not curated into a policy forecast by the committee.
—Steve Liesman,matt Peterson, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
But for every moment of genuine accountability journalism that reminds the public what the press is capable of, there seems to follow another viral post, another sympathetic profile of a terrorist’s grieving relatives, another story that mistakes activism for reporting.
—Julian Baron, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2026
But that mistakes the symptom for the cause.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
According to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, mistakes can also be corrected by simply indicating the correction on your original ballot.
—Hector Amezcua, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
These mistakes can sometimes increase the record's value.
—Nina Derwin, Martha Stewart, 30 Apr. 2026
So, learn from making mistakes.
—Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
The difficulty is moving past and learning from the mistakes.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
Finch said immediately after Game 5 that Shannon made numerous mistakes defensively in Game 5, and noted Wednesday the wing has to clean those up.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 29 Apr. 2026
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow managed to navigate his way around six walks, but made two costly mistakes, while the offense struggled against former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who gave up two runs over six innings.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026
Here are seven of those mistakes, along with practical guidance from the experts on how to course-correct.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
After all, fatigue causes mistakes.
—James Ellingworth, Sun Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
Verb
The Suns didn’t help themselves with 19 turnovers, mistakes Oklahoma City turned into 34 points.
—Doug Haller, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
In a category that often mistakes complexity and aggression for innovation, this kind of approach is surprisingly rare.
—New Atlas, 19 Apr. 2026
Seasonal allergies happen when the immune system mistakes something harmless in the environment, such as pollen, as a danger, setting off reactions and symptoms that can turn spring from a gift into an ordeal.
—Matt Fuchs, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
In another scene, Peet’s character is asked for an autograph by a young woman who mistakes her for the actor Lake Bell.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Chicken allergies occur when the body's immune system mistakes chicken as a harmful invader, triggering an allergic reaction.
—Lindsey Desoto, Health, 1 Apr. 2026
The market focuses on the median dot and often mistakes it for a plan, even though they are derived from 19 separate forecasts and not curated into a policy forecast by the committee.
—Steve Liesman,matt Peterson, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
But for every moment of genuine accountability journalism that reminds the public what the press is capable of, there seems to follow another viral post, another sympathetic profile of a terrorist’s grieving relatives, another story that mistakes activism for reporting.
—Julian Baron, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2026
But that mistakes the symptom for the cause.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistakes
Noun
-
Many similar blunders have been recorded in years past, including arguably the worst example, a disastrous decision three decades ago to overhaul how electricity was produced, distributed and priced.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Several real estate blunders exacerbated the situation.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Hopefully his teammates and coaches realize the errors in their ways.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
In December, Chelsea’s players looked inexplicably unprepared for the intensity of this long-time rivalry and were caught out via defensive errors.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This latter position fundamentally misunderstands the PRC’s determination to absorb Taiwan; expressing weakness is more likely to invite a Chinese invasion.—
Michelle Kuo,
The Dial,
14 Apr. 2026
-
This fundamentally misunderstands physical infrastructure.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Andy Sachs starts off as the girl everyone underestimates, then proceeds to survive the highs and lows of working for Runway magazine in The Devil Wears Prada.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Telling the story this way elides, smooths over, and underestimates the role of circumstance and dumb luck.—
Charles Yu,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The low-performing chefs are Rhoda, whose lamb confuses the kids; Sherry, whose grits were oddly flavored; and Oscar, whose puff pastry soaked up all the deep-fryer oil.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Learn about Outside Online's affiliate link policy Go somewhere that confuses your algorithm.—
Kevin Sintumuang,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The use of video technology has increased the scrutiny, even though it was never sold as a panacea to the issue of refereeing misjudgments.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Ullrich stresses the role of tactical mistakes and misjudgments, not least by the far left, which shortsightedly refused to compromise its beliefs and join with more moderate groups to oppose democratic backsliding.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
This is a good quarterback room that should be able to keep the ship afloat if Prescott misses a small amount of time.—
Jon Machota,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Nutritional Benefits Beyond Protein Focusing only on protein misses what mushrooms actually do well.—
Morgan Pearson,
Verywell Health,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Home designer Allisa Jacobs wrote in a blog post that AI routinely misjudges the proportions and sizes of rooms and furniture, suggesting pieces that wouldn’t realistically fit in the space.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
But the Fed just kind of misjudges what's going on and pushes too hard on interest rates and pushes the economy in.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mistakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistakes. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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