miscalculate en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-? Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂-der. Proto-Germanic *missaz Proto-Germanic *missa- Proto-West Germanic *missa- Old English mis- Middle English mys- English mis- Pre-Greekbor.? Ancient Greek χᾰ́λῐξ (khắlĭx)bor.? substratebor.? Latin calx Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin calculus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin calculōbor. English calculate English miscalculate From mis- + calculate.
Meanings
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(intransitive, transitive) To calculate incorrectly.
They miscalculated by assuming the dimensions were in imperial, not metric.
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(intransitive, transitive) To make a gross error in judgment.
Obsessed only with cost, 'Sir Humphrey' saw that Transport for London 'got away' with ticket office closures on the Tube with only minor public pushback and miscalculated that it could do the same on the national network. This assumption backfired spectacularly.
2023 August 9, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Disinterested and dishonest”, in RAIL, number 989, page 3:This report examines the voluminous evidence bolstering these conclusions. We document the many ways in which the Harris campaign and Democratic Party leadership failed to meet the moment and gravely miscalculated both what and who the election hinged on.
2025, Christopher D. Cook, “Autopsy: How Democrats Lost the White House”, in RootsAction, archived from the original on 21 Feb 2026, page 4:Hitler and the Japanese generals miscalculated badly, 10 years ago, when they thought we would not be able to use our economic power effectively for the defeat of aggression. Let would-be aggressors make no such mistake today.
1950 September 1, Harry S. Truman, 2:37 from the start, in MP72-73 Korea and World Peace: President Truman Reports to the People, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:In the end, one could say with minimal originality, but considerable accuracy, that Bill Simmons simply flew too close to the sun. He miscalculated how much value ESPN put on him and on his unique abilities and talents.
2015 May 9, James Andrew Miller, “Inside the Shocking, Abrupt Divorce of Bill Simmons and ESPN”, in Vanity Fair, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2016:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| miscalculated | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| miscalculated | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| miscalculates | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| miscalculating | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (21)
cmn 算错 (incorrectly calculate) · cs přepočítat se (incorrectly calculate) · es juzgar mal (make a gross error in judgement) · fi arvioida väärin (make a gross error in judgement) · ga míríomh (incorrectly calculate) · fi laskea väärin (incorrectly calculate) · sv missräkna (make a gross error in judgement) · ru просчи́тываться (make a gross error in judgement) · uk прорахува́тися (make a gross error in judgement) · pl przeliczyć się (make a gross error in judgement) · uk прорахо́вуватися (make a gross error in judgement) · io miskalkular (incorrectly calculate) · ro calcula greșit (incorrectly calculate) · pl obliczyć błędnie (incorrectly calculate) · pl obliczać błędnie (incorrectly calculate) · ga mí-áirigh (incorrectly calculate) · pl przeliczać się (make a gross error in judgement) · ja 誤算する (incorrectly calculate) · ru просчита́ться (make a gross error in judgement) · es calcular mal (incorrectly calculate) · de missrechnen (make a gross error in judgement)