mistaken
part of speech
adjective (mistaken); also the past participle of «mistake» (mistake, mistakes, mistook, mistaken)
meaning for a pupil
1) Wrong in what you think or believe: «You are mistaken». tree →
2) «Mistaken for» means thought to be someone or something else: «He was mistaken for his twin». tree →
3) Based on a wrong idea: «a mistaken belief». tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and polite talk it is a gentle way to say someone is wrong: «I think you're mistaken». In science lessons: «a mistaken idea» or misconception, for example that heavy things always fall faster. Phrases: «mistaken identity», «if I'm not mistaken».
examples
- I'm sorry, you are mistaken; this is my bag. tree →
- She was mistaken for her older sister. tree →
- If I'm not mistaken, the bus leaves at eight. tree →
- It is a mistaken idea that bats are blind. tree →
- The police arrested the wrong man in a case of mistaken identity. tree →
- I had mistaken the date of the party. tree →
- He was mistaken about the answer. tree →
- But in this he was mistaken! tree →
note
Verb forms: mistake, mistook, mistaken (irregular, like take, took, taken). «You are mistaken» is more polite than «You are wrong». Adverb: «mistakenly».
In the corpora
- Dugongs are sea cows that graze on sea grass, and sailors long ago may have mistaken dugongs and manatees for mermaids.
- Brightly coloured liquid capsules for washing machines have been mistaken for sweets by small children.
- They laughed: «Must've been her twin, eh.» Her friend wasn't lying — just mistaken.
- Sometimes a person isn't lying but mistaken, like someone who saw a lookalike.
- A plastic bag in the sea can be mistaken for a jellyfish and swallowed by a turtle.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mistaken» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.