Word.ws English Dictionary

take the wrong way

take the wrong way verb: to misunderstand (something), especially in a case of mistakenly regarding someone's behavior or remarks as offensive or hostile.

Verb

take the wrong way (third-person singular simple present takes the wrong way, present participle taking the wrong way, simple past took the wrong way, past participle taken the wrong way)

  1. (transitive, set phrase) To misunderstand (something), especially in a case of mistakenly regarding someone's behavior or remarks as offensive or hostile.
    • "[N]ow you do see what I mean, don't you, now? And you won't take it the wrong way? No, I was sure you wouldn't. There, now, we'll shake 'ands over it, and be as good friends as ever."1906, George Gissing, “The Salt of the Earth”, in The House of Cobwebs and Other Stories
    • Mr. Feeney said that it was all just a joke, and that he hoped nobody took it the wrong way. "I apologize to the extent that my remarks offended anyone," he said.2000 December 15, “A Pledge to Change How Floridians Vote”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Apr 2015

Forms of take the wrong way

third-person singular presenttakes the wrong way
present participletaking the wrong way
pasttook the wrong way
past participletaken the wrong way

Questions about take the wrong way

What does take the wrong way mean?
Take the wrong way means to misunderstand (something), especially in a case of mistakenly regarding someone's behavior or remarks as offensive or hostile.
What part of speech is take the wrong way?
Take the wrong way is a verb.
What is the past tense of take the wrong way?
The past tense of take the wrong way is took the wrong way.

Words near take the wrong way in the dictionary

  1. take the weight off one's feet
  2. take the wheel
  3. take the wind out of someone's sails
  4. take the words out of someone's mouth
  5. take the wrong turn at Albuquerque
  6. take the wrong way
  7. take time
  8. take time by the forelock
  9. take time off
  10. take time out
  11. take to

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: take the wrong way (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “take the wrong way.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/take_the_wrong_way. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.