mistakenly

adverb

as in incorrectly
in a mistaken or inappropriate way we mistakenly thought that this was our conference room

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mistakenly There's also the possibility that errors in the process could have resulted in crucial emails mistakenly being deleted. — Daniel Ruetenik, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026 The filing did concede that some names of citizens could have been mistakenly included. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026 The French news channel TF1 once mistakenly referred to him as Jared. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026 This has sparked fears that some bodies may have been mistakenly given to the wrong families. — CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 Hours later, with the patch still unavailable, Calif mistakenly posted a video showing its exploit at work, and copycat attempts multiplied. — Harry Booth, Time, 23 Oct. 2026 Still, these costs sometimes get mistakenly passed on to the patient. — Stephanie O'Neill, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026 The state previously acknowledged that some people were mistakenly registered to vote through the DMV. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026 Those cases often centered on devices mistakenly activating or capturing speech that was not intended as a command. — Mackenzie Sigalos,annie Palmer, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistakenly
  1. incorrectly
  2. erroneously
Adverb
  • The story also incorrectly described the status of a bill allowing women to get a divorce while pregnant.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In May 2026, Musk said that US military suicide drones set up by a contractor incorrectly used Starlink instead of Starshield.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of incorrectly
Adverb
  • The law is supposed to prevent mistakes that could erroneously purge eligible voters right before an election without giving voters time to correct errors.
    — Miles Parks, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Fencebridge now denies that figure, stating that the comment was made erroneously, and the figure is closer to $24 million — $13 million for ammunition and $11 million for guns.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of erroneously

Browse Nearby Words

mistaken
mistakenly
mistakes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mistakenly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistakenly. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of reticent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All