desentender

Senses

1. 1.

   to misunderstand

   to fail to understand correctly or interpret wrongly

2. 2.

   to feign ignorance

   to pretend not to understand something deliberately

Examples

• "Acho que você desentendeu o que eu quis dizer."

  I think you misunderstood what I meant.

• "Ele se fez de desentendido quando perguntei sobre o dinheiro."

  He played dumb when I asked about the money.

• "Não desentenda minha pergunta - você precisa responder diretamente."

  Don't misunderstand my question - you need to answer directly.

Usage

Most commonly used in the reflexive expression "fazer-se de desentendido" (to play dumb, to feign ignorance). As a simple transitive verb meaning "to misunderstand," it is less common than "entender mal" or "compreender mal" in everyday speech.