misapprehend

verb

1. (transitive)To interpret incorrectly; to misunderstand.

   “I define white as a social category, not a racial category. Of course, it carries unmistakable racial meanings, but as I have argued in this book, to see it as racial and nothing more is to misapprehend it.”

   “They misapprehended the intentions and capabilities of our enemies, miscalculated the strength of communism, and misjudged the threat of terrorism.”