misgrasp

English

Etymology

mis- +‎ grasp

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪsɡɹæsp/, /ˈmɪsɡɹɑːsp/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /mɪsˈɡɹæsp/, /mɪsˈɡɹɑːsp/

Noun

misgrasp (plural misgrasps)

1. A failure to grasp or understand; misapprehension.
   • 1984, Ethel M. Wheeler, How "Montessorian" are the Montessori Schools?, page 87:

     They all reflect to a greater or lesser degree, in the language and explanatory material employed, the same misgrasp of biological theory mentioned before.

   • 1992, Mark Jerome Walters, A Shadow and a Song: The Struggle to Save an Endangered Species, page 154:

     To compound that problem by disseminating misinformation based on a woeful misgrasp of the facts to concerned citizens without first "checking the facts” with a knowledgeable biologist (of which you employ many at the hands-on level) is simply irresponsibility defined.

   • 2010, George M. Eberhart, The Librarian's Book of Lists, page 42:

     Middle-aged Louisiana State University librarian Myrtle Rusk is tasked with patrolling the stacks to tell lustful students to take their hormones elsewhere. But she bends the rules for Seti, an Egyptian student worker with an amusing misgrasp of English who has fallen for the wiles of Lili, the library director's sensuous daughter.

Verb

misgrasp (third-person singular simple present misgrasps, present participle misgrasping, simple past and past participle misgrasped)

1. To fail to correctly understand; misunderstand.
   • 1947, Hermon Ould, Shuttle: An Autobiographical Sequence, page 268:

     When the waiter brought me a large white cup and saucer, I concluded that either he or I had misgrasped the situation.

   • 1994, Donna L. Sollie, Leigh A. Leslie, Gender, Families and Close Relationships, page 228:

     Harding (1986) argues that a leap to relativism is not necessary and that it “misgrasps” feminist critiques.

   • 2004, Sinkwan Cheng, Law, Justice, and Power: Between Reason and Will, page 194:

     In the eyes of someone who holds either that a norm is valid, or indeed, that there is a rational validation for norms, treating a norm in terms of its function is to misgrasp the idea of norms.