mis

wrong

Spelled mis · mis- 'amiss, wrongly'

Old English mis-, wrongly: mislead sends a traveler astray, misconstrue twists a remark, and mismanage turns a project chaotic.

Words built from it

mislead — to give someone a false impression
mis- (wrong) + lead (guide)
misguided — showing poor judgment; based on faulty reasoning
mis- (wrong) + guided (directed)
mismanage — to handle or organize something badly
mis- (wrong) + manage (handle)
misconception — a mistaken belief
mis- (wrong) + conception (idea formed)
misconstrue — to misunderstand someone's meaning
mis- (wrong) + construe (interpret)
misapprehension — a mistaken understanding of something
mis- (wrong) + apprehension (understanding)

promise — from Latin promittere 'send forth,' not Old English mis-
miser — from Latin miser 'wretched, unhappy' — unrelated to the prefix mis- 'wrongly'