Dictionary

misunderestimate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From mis- + underestimate, perhaps under influence of misunderstand.

Meanings

1. (nonstandard, qualifier:malapropism or humorous) To underestimate mistakenly or wrongly; to misestimate with an error on the lower side.
   • And I think after Three Mile Island, not only does the NRC itself understand that it sadly misunderestimated the number of ways in . . . 1980, Accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Powerplant: Oversight Hearings:
   • Hence, while anticipating incoming fire, here are several factors for why even the most liberal of Democrats should not "misunderestimate" — my favorite Bushism — our prez. 2003 April 30, Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
   • . . .is almost sure to misunderstand and misunderestimate the significance of the question at hand. 1897 April 17, “American Diplomacy on the Bosphorous”, in The Outlook:
   • . . . not only the disciples within their accounts, had seriously misunderestimated the life and teaching of Jesus. 1992, Adelbert Denaux, John and the Synoptics:
   • Whatever happened to Espy? Well, what happened to Espy is what happens to people whether you're a former congressman or not. If you understand the power -- if you misunderestimate the power of the intense bureaucracy in these agencies and departments and federal institutions, you go, they stay. 1997 Aug. 29, John Conyers (D-MI), "Delivers Remarks to the Department of Agriculture's Coalition of Minority Employees"
   • The most quoted malamanteau is George W. Bush’s “I misunderestimated”. Others that have evoked smirks have been “miscommunicado” (from “miscommunicate” and “incommunicado”), “insinuendo” (from “innuendo” and “insinuation”), and “squirmish” (“squirm” and “skirmish”). 2017 December 4, Roslyn Petelin, “The horror and pleasure of misused words: from mispronunciation to malapropisms”, in The Conversation, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2024:
   • Now in the very earliest years of the eighteenth century it is understandable that, owing to the inevitable, due to our never-to-be-misunderestimated Frederick the Gross . . . 1975, Thomas Merton, My Argument With the Gestapo:
   • "I think that anybody who misunderestimates this president is going to have egg on their face in a few years," Rice told me. 2004, Bill Sammon, Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry, and the Bush Haters,, →ISBN, page 347:

Forms

Antonyms

overestimate · overapproximate · overthink · overstate · overrate · overstate · overreckon · overhold

Deriveds

misunderestimation

Hypernyms

misestimate

Synonyms

underguess · underestimate · underrate · misunderestimate · understate · underreckon · underestimate · underjudge · sell short · underapproximate · underapproximate