misdirect

[mis-di-rekt]

verb (used with object)

1. to direct or address wrongly or incorrectly.

   to misdirect a person; to misdirect a letter.

misdirect

/ ˌmɪsdɪˈrɛkt /

verb

1. to give (a person) wrong directions or instructions

2. to address (a letter, parcel, etc) wrongly

Other Word Forms

• misdirection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of misdirect¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; mis- ¹ + direct

Example Sentences

It adds that "attributing blame" to school leaders is "unwarranted" and it "misdirects attention from the true source of this crisis: sustained, systemic underfunding".

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Erin’s murder drove the A-plot, often weaving down the road through an obstacle course of misdirects and MacGuffins as the mystery of her life informed her death.

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She claimed the event was filled with “occult symbols” and ceremonies, calling it not just an eccentric festival but “one of the most effective tools for Satan to misdirect souls away from our Heavenly Father.”

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More often than not, the things the gang cooks, markets or consumes are totems of their most earnest, if wildly misdirected, ambitions.

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As Texas is such a staunchly conservative state, it’s hard to follow the argument that it allowed DEI to misdirect its fire department resources.

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Related Words

• betray 
• cheat 
• deceive 
• defraud 
• delude 
• dupe 
• entice 
• fool 
• fudge 
• hoodwink 
• lie 
• misguide 
• misinform 
• misrepresent 
• tempt