mis·quote
ˈmis-ˌkwōt 
also -ˌkōt
plural misquotes
: an act or instance of quoting something incorrectly : misquotation
"If it doesn't show up in the drug controls, then it's not doping," [Michele] Ferrari was quoted as having said (a statement he has since characterized as a misquote) …—
Bill Gifford
Bill GiffordThey will defend his every misquote and misuse of scripture as the shortcomings of a new believer or even the second coming of Cyrus.—Erick Erickson
Erick Erickson
mis·quote
ˌmis-ˈkwōt
also -ˈkōt
misquoted; misquoting
: to quote (someone or something) incorrectly
… when it quickly became clear that these were not the facts, he took refuge in the trapped politician's standard excuse: The press had misquoted him.—Geoffrey C. Ward
Geoffrey C. WardHe misquotes frequently, providing others with opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine.—Susan Rusinko
Susan RusinkoExamples of misquote in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Lawyers representing MyPillow and its CEO Mike Lindell were fined $6,000 after using artificial intelligence in a brief that was riddled with misquotes and citations to fictional cases.
—ArsTechnica, 8 July 2025
Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2025
Vance said the organizations funded The Nation magazine, referencing an article that had misquoted Kirk.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misquote
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Noun
Newsweek could find no evidence that Carter said words to that effect, either, and previous misquotes about mail-in voting attributed to the Nobel Peace Prize winner by Trump have been debunked.
—Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Lawyers representing MyPillow and its CEO Mike Lindell were fined $6,000 after using artificial intelligence in a brief that was riddled with misquotes and citations to fictional cases.
—ArsTechnica, 8 July 2025
Verb
The Taliban later said he had been misquoted and that internet service had begun to be restored in parts of Afghanistan.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2025
Vance said the organizations funded The Nation magazine, referencing an article that had misquoted Kirk.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misquote
Cite this Entry
“Misquote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misquote. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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