miscall
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form a wrong judgment (about): If she thinks I'll agree to that she's miscalculated badly. —lation /ˌmɪsˌkælkjʊˈleɪʃən/ n [C;U]
mis-call /ˌmɪsˈkɔːl/ v [T+obj (+n)] fml to call by a wrong name
mis-car-riage /ˌmɪsˈkærɪdʒ, ˈmɪskærdʒ/ n a case of accidentally giving birth to a child too early for it to live, especially between the 12th and 28th weeks of PREGNANCY ➔ compare ABORTION, STILLBIRTH
misˌcarriage of ˈjustice n [C;U] (a) failure to act justly, especially in a court of law: She was found guilty on a technical legal point, even though she was clearly innocent. What a miscarriage of justice!
mis-car-ry /mɪsˈkæri/ v [I] 1 (of a woman) to have a miscarriage ➔ compare ABORT 2 fml (of an intention, plan etc) to be unsuccessful; fail to have the intended result
mis-cast /ˌmɪsˈkɑːst||-ˈkæst/ y miscast [T usually pass.] 1 [(as)] to give (an actor) an unsuitable part in a play, film etc: He was badly miscast as Julius Caesar. 2 to put an unsuitable actor or actors into (a part, play etc)
mis-ce-ge-na-tion /ˌmɪsɪdʒəˈneɪʃən||-sedʒ-/ n [U] the production of children by a sexual union of people of different races, especially when one of the partners is white
mis-cel-la-ne-ous /ˌmɪsəˈleɪniəs/ adj of several kinds or different kinds; too various to be called by a single name: There are categories for all major areas of expenditure, and then one at the end for miscellaneous items. —ly adv —ness n [U]
mis-cel-la-ny /mɪˈseləni||ˈmɪsəlæni/ n [ (of)] a mixture of various kinds, especially a collection of writings on different subjects or by different writers: a miscellany of American short stories
mis-chance /mɪsˈtʃɑːns||-ˈtʃæns/ n [C;U] fml (an example of) bad luck: By sheer mischance the letter was sent to the wrong address.
mis-chief /ˈmɪstʃɪf/ n 1 [U] behaviour, especially of children, that causes trouble and possibly damage, but no serious harm: getting into mischief | She suspected the children were up to some mischief and she found them in the garden digging up the flowers. | We allowed the children to watch a film on television, to keep them out of mischief. 2 [U] slightly wicked playfulness: She gave her father a smile that was full of mischief. 3 [U] fml damage or harm; wrong-doing: The storm did a lot of mischief to the crops. 4 [C] infml, rather old-fash a troublesomely playful child 5 do someone/oneself a mischief especially BrE, usually humor to hurt someone/oneself: If you try to lift that box you'll do yourself a mischief! 6 make mischief (between) infml to speak so as to cause quarrels, unfriendly feelings etc between people ➔ see also mean mischief (MEAN²)
'mischief-mak-er n derog a person who intentionally makes (sometimes serious) trouble or causes misunderstanding
mis-che-vous /ˈmɪstʃɪvəs/ adj 1 sometimes apprec playfully troublesome: One expects healthy children to be mischievous at times. | a mischievous grin/glance 2 causing harm, often intentionally: a mischievous remark —ly adv —ness n [U]
mis-con-ceive /ˌmɪskənˈsiːv/ v [T] 1 to plan (something) badly: The government's plan to privatize the railways is wholly misconceived. 2 fml to place a wrong meaning on; misunderstand
mis-con-cep-tion /ˌmɪskənˈsepʃən/ n [C;U] (an example of) understanding something wrongly: [+that] the popular misconception that governments can guarantee full employment (=many people think this, wrongly)
mis-con-duct¹ /ˌmɪsˈkɒndʌkt||-ˈkɑːn-/ n [U] fml 1 intentional bad behaviour, especially unacceptable sexual behaviour: The doctor was found guilty of professional misconduct. 2 [ (of)] bad control, for example of a business company
mis-con-duct² /ˌmɪskəndʌkt/ v [T] fml to control (a business etc) badly; deal badly with: The board has so misconducted the affairs of the company that it's deep in debt.
mis-con-struc-tion /ˌmɪskənstrʌkʃən/ n [C;U] fml (an example of) mistaken understanding: A law must be stated in the clearest language, so that it is not open to misconstruction. (=so that it cannot be misunderstood)
mis-con-strue /ˌmɪskənˈstruː/ v [T] fml to understand or take (something said or done) wrongly: Don't misconstrue what I am about to say ...
mis-count /ˌmɪsˈkaʊnt/ v [I;T] to count wrongly: The teacher miscounted the number of boys. —miscount /ˈmɪskaʊnt/ n: a miscount in the election results
mis-cre-ant /ˈmɪskriənt/ n old use a person of bad character
mis-deed /ˌmɪsˈdiːd/ n fml or lit a wrong or illegal action; offence: The selection committee decided to overlook his past misdeeds.
mis-de-mea-nour BrE || -nor AmE /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnər/ n 1 law a crime that is less serious than, for example stealing or murder ➔ compare FELONY 2 fml a bad or improper act that is not very serious
mis-di-rect /ˌmɪsdəˈrekt/ v [T] 1 to direct wrongly: a misdirected letter (=sent to the wrong address) 2 to use (one's efforts, abilities etc) in the wrong way, or for a wrong purpose: misdirected energy 3 (of a judge) to guide (a JURY) incorrectly on the law —ion /ˈrekʃən/ n [U(of)]
mise-en-scène /ˌmiːz n ˈsen, -ˈseɪn||-ɑːn-/ n pl. mise-en-scènes (same pronunciation) Fr 1 tech the arrangement of furniture, scenery, and other objects used on the stage in a play 2 lit or pomp the surroundings in which an event takes place
mi-ser /ˈmaɪzər/ n derog a person who loves money and hates spending it, and often lives in very poor conditions in order to become wealthy by storing all his money —liness n [U] —ly adj: a miserly attitude
mis-er-a-ble /ˈmɪzrəbəl/ adj 1 very unhappy: The child's cold, hungry, and tired, so of course he's feeling miserable. 2 causing unhappiness, discomfort etc: a cold wet miserable day | miserable living conditions 3 [A] sometimes derog very low in quality or very small in amount; CONTEMPTIBLE or PATHETIC: All they offered us was a few miserable pounds. | a miserable failure —bly adv
mis-er-y /ˈmɪzəri/ n 1 [S;U] also miseries pl. — a condition of great unhappiness or great pain and suffering of body or mind: the unspeakable misery of their existence, kept in tiny cages with no light and little food | The new neighbours play loud music all the time, and it's making our lives a misery. 2 [C] derog infml, especially BrE a person who is always complaining, especially one who does not like others to enjoy themselves: You old misery! 3 put something/someone out of its/their misery a) to kill an animal in order to end its suffering b) infml to cause someone to stop feeling anxious, especially by telling them something they are waiting to find out: Let's put the interviewees out of their misery and tell them who's got the job.
mis-field /ˈmɪsfiːld/ v [I;T] to make a mistake in fielding (FIELD) the ball in cricket, BASEBALL etc
mis-fire /ˌmɪsˈfaɪər/ v [I] 1 (of a gun) to fail to send out the bullet when fired 2 (of the petrol mixture in a car engine) to fail to IGNITE at the proper time: The engine misfired several times. 3 (of a plan, joke etc) to fail to have the intended result —misfire /ˈmɪsfaɪər/ n
mis-fit /ˈmɪsfɪt/ n someone whose character or behaviour makes them unsuited to the way they live, the people they work with etc: a social misfit
mis-for-tune /mɪsˈfɔːtʃən||-ɔːr-/ n [C;U] (an example of) bad luck, often of a serious kind: His failure in business was due not to misfortune, but to his own mistakes. | I had the misfortune to have my driving licence taken away for a minor offence.
mis-giv-ing /ˌmɪsˈgɪvɪŋ/ n [C;U] (a feeling of) doubt, distrust, or fear, especially about a future event: He looked with misgiving at the strange food on his plate. | I could see he had some misgivings about lending me his car.
mis-guid-ed /ˌmɪsˈgaɪdɪd/ adj (of a person or behaviour) directed by mistaken ideas; not sensible, especially in trying to do something that will not work or will have bad results: It was misguided of him to pay his daughter's debts again; she ought to learn to manage money. | her well-meaning but misguided attempts to reconcile the ex-lovers —ly adv
mis-han-dle /ˌmɪsˈhændl/ v [T] to handle or treat roughly, without skill, or insensitively: This detector is a very delicate instrument; it'll go wrong if it's mishandled. | Our company lost an important order because the directors mishandled the negotiations.