mistranslate

M3I1S1T1R1A1N1S1L1A1T1E1

verb

To translate incorrectly.

OriginEnglish translate ← Middle English mys- ← Old English mis- →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

verbmistranslate (third-person singular simple present mistranslates, present participle mistranslating, simple past and past participle mistranslated)

present singular third person mistranslates · participle present mistranslating · participle past mistranslated · past mistranslated

  1. transitiveTo translate incorrectly.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
misconstrue

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mey-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*meyth₂-
  3. Proto-Germanic*missaz
  4. Proto-Germanic*missa-
  5. Proto-West Germanic*missa-
  6. Old Englishmis-
  7. Middle Englishmys-
  8. Englishmis-
  9. Englishtranslate
  10. Englishmistranslate

From mis- + translate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mistranslate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistranslate

MLA

“mistranslate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistranslate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mistranslate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistranslate.

Source: mistranslate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.