State clearly what you expect, to avoid misunderstandings later on.
cause/lead to a misunderstanding
Hearing loss can cause misunderstandings, when what you say is not correctly heard.
Don’t just assume that you know what he means; that can lead to misunderstandings.
a misunderstanding arises (=a misunderstanding starts)
Misunderstandings can easily arise when people from different cultures meet.
clear up/correct a misunderstanding (=get rid of a misunderstanding)
I want to talk to you, to try and clear up any misunderstandings.
be based on a misunderstanding (=happen or be done as a result of a misunderstanding)
The whole argument was based on a misunderstanding.
phrases
there has been a misunderstanding
There’s been a misunderstanding about what I meant.
there must be some misunderstanding (=used when you think someone has not understood something correctly)
I think there must be some misunderstanding - I don’t know anyone called Barry.
there is no misunderstanding
I am writing to make sure there is no misunderstanding between us.
something is all a misunderstanding (=used when saying that a situation happened because of a mistake)
Why don’t you call him and tell him it was all a misunderstanding?
a bit of a misunderstandingBritish EnglishBrE
I’m afraid it’s all a bit of a misunderstanding.
adjectives
a serious/terrible misunderstanding
There have been some serious misunderstandings which have led to conflict.
a little misunderstanding (=one that is not serious)
We need to clear up this little misunderstanding.
a simple misunderstanding (=one that is not serious and is easy to correct)
It was a simple misunderstanding: I thought the meeting was on Wednesday, not Thursday.
a complete/total misunderstanding
There seems to be a complete misunderstanding of how the changes will affect us.
a fundamental misunderstanding (=a misunderstanding of the main point of something)
a fundamental misunderstanding of Freud’s theories
a widespread misunderstanding (=a misunderstanding that many people share)
There is a widespread misunderstanding of the purpose of the law.
a cultural misunderstanding (=a misunderstanding caused by different cultures doing things in a different way)
Cultural misunderstandings have led to fights between students.
Examples from the Corpus
misunderstanding• Misunderstandings can be caused by culturaldifferences between workers.• There has been a misunderstanding of the Government's plans from the point of view of socialsecuritybenefits.• There seems to have been a misunderstanding. I didn't order steak.• On another front, Farrakhan met last week with 10 Phoenix area business and communityleaders to try to erasemisunderstandings.• He even met with the Anti-Defamation League to try and clear the air of misunderstandings.• This helps avoid a lot of misunderstandings down the sharedroad of life.• Listening carefully reducesmisunderstandings.• It is no wonder that misunderstandingsarose, but they should not have affected our professionalrelationship.• Cultural differences between people from different countries can sometimeslead to misunderstandings.