mistakenly
Americanadverb
-
unintentionally or inadvertently; by mistake.
I may have mistakenly interchanged them without realizing it.
-
in a way that is wrongly conceived, held, or done; incorrectly.
Many people mistakenly believe their PhD will help them land a stable, middle-class job even if they can't get an academic job.
Etymology
Origin of mistakenly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Commercial aircraft have been accidentally misidentified as hostile by air-defense systems in the past, most recently when Russian defenses mistakenly shot down an Azerbaijani commercial flight in late 2024.
The agency this month has twice shut down airspace near the U.S.-Mexico border, most recently after the military mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone near El Paso.
From Los Angeles Times
“We believe a different individual was a target and that Mr. Singh was mistakenly taken,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
However, last year the OBR's analysis was released mistakenly before the chancellor had delivered her Budget statement in the House of Commons.
From BBC
Last Valentine’s Day, I mistakenly reserved a table at a fancy restaurant for the wrong Friday.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
