Meanings
plural misconceptions
- countableuncountableA mistaken belief, a wrong idea.
There are several common misconceptions about the theory of relativity.
5 more examples
You're obviously under the misconception that I care about your problems.
He had the misconception that the word "misconception" meant becoming pregnant with a girl.
From November 28 to December 8, 1958, the CCP Central Committee held its sixth plenum in Wuhan, Hopei^([sic – meaning Hupei]), and at the end of the session it issued a revealing resolution that declared there had been some misconception about the system and that party committees throughout the countryside should make full use of the five months from December 1958 to April 1959 to tidy up the communes.
1968, Lucian W. Pye, “The Political Process in Action: The Communes”, in The Spirit of Chinese Politics: A Psychocultural Study of the Authority Crisis in Political Development, M.I.T. Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 203It is a common misconception that anal intercourse is an exclusively homosexual male practice. […] As elsewhere in Africa, little data exist on the role of anal sex in HIV acquisition in women in the general population […]
2010, S. S. Abdool Karim, Q. Abdool Karim, HIV/AIDS in South Africa, page 299We also found that because of the prevalence of cannabis in serious and fatal crashes, the changes in state laws regarding its legal use, and the public’s misconceptions about its impairing effects on driving, educating drivers on the impairing effects of cannabis use and the illegality of driving under its influence is critical to highway safety.
2024, NTSB, Intersection Crash Between Passenger Car and Combination Vehicle, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, March 22, 2022
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mey-?
- Proto-Indo-European*meyth₂-
- Proto-Germanic*missaz
- Proto-Germanic*missa-
- Proto-West Germanic*missa-
- Old Englishmis-
- Middle Englishmys-
- Englishmis-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Latincon-
- Proto-Indo-European*kap-
- Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
- Proto-Italic*kapjō
- Latincapiō
- Ancient Greekσῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω (sŭllămbắnō)
- Latinconcipiō
- Latinconceptiō
- Old Frenchconception
- Middle Englishconcepcioun
- Englishconception
- Englishmisconception
From mis- + conception.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian заблуждение
- заблуждение (zabluždenie)a mistaken belief
Chinese Mandarin 錯覺 /错觉
- 錯覺 /错觉 (cuòjué)a mistaken belief
Finnish väärinkäsitys
- väärinkäsitysa mistaken belief
French idée erronée
- idée erronéea mistaken belief
German Missverständnis, Irrglaube
- Missverständnisa mistaken belief
- Irrglaubea mistaken belief
- Fehlannahmea mistaken belief
- irrige Vorstellunga mistaken belief
- falsche Auffassunga mistaken belief
Hindi भ्रम
- भ्रम (bhram)a mistaken belief
Hungarian tévhit
- tévhita mistaken belief
Italian convinzione errata, luogo comune
- convinzione errataa mistaken belief
- luogo comunea mistaken belief
- malintesoa mistaken belief
- pregiudizioa mistaken belief
Māori pōhēhētanga
- pōhēhētangaa mistaken belief
Norwegian Bokmål misoppfatning
- misoppfatninga mistaken belief
Russian заблужде́ние
- заблужде́ние (zabluždénije)a mistaken belief
Spanish creencia errónea, concepción equivocada
- creencia erróneaa mistaken belief
- concepción equivocadaa mistaken belief
- falenciaa mistaken belief
Swahili dhana potofu
- dhana potofua mistaken belief
Swedish missuppfattning
- missuppfattninga mistaken belief
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
misconception. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misconception
“misconception.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misconception. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “misconception,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misconception.
Source: misconception on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.