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⇱ MISTRANSLATE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com


mistranslate

American  
[mis-trans-leyt, -tranz-, mis-trans-leyt, -tranz-] / ˌmɪs trænsˈleɪt, -trænz-, mɪsˈtræns leɪt, -ˈtrænz- /

verb (used with or without object)

mistranslated, mistranslating
  1. to translate incorrectly.


Other Word Forms

  • mistranslation noun

Etymology

Origin of mistranslate

First recorded in 1525–35; mis- 1 + translate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When the interpreter is a no-show, family members often jump in to fill the gap - like the time Ray mischievously stepped up to "mistranslate" his school parents' evening to his own advantage.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2021

I then heard the interpreter mistranslate this question into Mandarin as “Why didn’t the interpreter interpret everything?”

From The New Yorker • Oct. 12, 2015

Emoji also tend to mistranslate when sent between platforms, or they get jumbled if you don’t have the right font.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2014

Did they mistranslate “world’s largest professional network” as “professional network that people actually use”?

From Slate • Jun. 7, 2012

To translate it as ‘machine of the world’ is to mistranslate.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.