missing the point
Failing to grasp
Missing the point is failing to understand the essential meaning or significance of something.
Someone who misses the point may grasp peripheral details while the central message goes right past them: You're missing the point—it's not about the money, it's about the principle.
The phrase often carries mild exasperation toward the person who doesn't get it.
- obliviousnessLack of awareness
- misunderstandingFailure to grasp meaning
- misperceptionIncorrect interpretation of reality
- lost in translationMeaning altered between languages
- misinterpretationIncorrect understanding of meaning
barking up the wrong tree · tangentiality · irrelevance · ignorance · incomprehension · unawareness · oversight · literalism · misapprehension · nuance · fallacy · red herring · wide of the mark · obtuseness · tin ear · miscommunication · misstep · deviation
- misunderstandingsmisunderstanding, misinterpretation, misconception, misreading, miscommunication
- misjudgmentsmisjudgment, mistake, error, blunder, miscalculation
missing the pointgetting the point
Understanding the essence
seeing the point · getting it · understanding · comprehending · catching on
missing the pointhitting the nail on the head
Being exactly correct
cutting to the chase · hitting the mark · nailing it · zeroing in
miss, missed, misses, missable, point, points, pointed, pointing, pointer