misunderstanding

«misunderstanding» in Mova's school dictionary: A failure to understand something correctly: «There was a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a misunderstanding, misunderstandings); verb form (-ing form of «misunderstand»)

meaning for a pupil

1) A failure to understand something correctly: «There was a misunderstanding about the time». tree →

2) A small disagreement or argument, often caused by not understanding each other: «We had a little misunderstanding». tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life, many arguments start from a misunderstanding: a text read in the wrong tone, a mixed-up time or place. In friendship lessons, children learn to clear up misunderstandings by asking and listening. In stories, misunderstandings drive funny plots. Phrases: «clear up a misunderstanding», «there's been a misunderstanding», «a misunderstanding about».

examples

• There must be a misunderstanding – I said three o'clock, not two. tree →
• We cleared up the misunderstanding by talking. tree →
• The whole argument was a misunderstanding. tree →
• A misunderstanding over the rules ended the game early. tree →
• Texts can lead to misunderstandings because you can't hear the voice. tree →
• The comedy is full of misunderstandings and mixed-up identities. tree →
• «Sorry, I think we had a misunderstanding.» tree →
• A misunderstanding in maths: he thought «product» meant add, not multiply. tree →

note

Countable: one misunderstanding, two misunderstandings. Verb: misunderstand (past: misunderstood – irregular). Often a polite word for a small argument. In maths word problems, misunderstanding key words (sum, product, difference, quotient) is a common trap.

In the corpora

• "A misunderstanding" can hide a mistake or a quarrel.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «misunderstanding» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.