astray
[uh-strey]
- out of the right way; off the correct or known road, path, or route: Despite specific instructions, they went astray and got lost.
- away from that which is right; into error, confusion, or undesirable action or thought: They were led astray by their lust for money.
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Origin of astray
1250–1300; Middle English astraye < Anglo-French *astraié, Old French estraié, past participle of estraier; see stray
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for astray
Contemporary Examples
But sometimes, the quest for facts lets us down, or leads us astray, and leaves us worse off than before, not better.
Certainly, other communities—ultra-Orthodox Jews, for example—are fretting about members who go online, and then astray.
The author of Room, Slammerkin, and Astray picks five of the best historical fictions about the oldest profession.
Then you read the short stories in Astray, and you realize this is how she writes!
Your most recent book, The Golden Cage, is about three brothers whose rigid ideologies lead them astray.
Historical Examples
That was the real madness; pride and enthusiasm led us astray.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
Yes, she must have led Lantier astray; you could see it in her eyes.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
My foot was on the threshold of His house when you led me astray.
Keziah CoffinJoseph C. Lincoln
They are very idle, gay and effeminate, and I fear that they will lead you astray.
The Indian Fairy BookCornelius Mathews
In the first place, the allurements which led me astray may have had no charms for you.
The Mind and Its EducationGeorge Herbert Betts
astray
- out of the correct path or direction
- out of the right, good, or expected way; into error
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French estraie roaming, from estraier to stray
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for astray
adv.
c.1300, astraied "away from home; lost," borrowed and partially nativized from Old French estraie, past participle of estraier "astray, riderless (of a horse), lost," literally "on stray" (see stray (v.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with astray
astray
see best-laid plans go astray; go astray.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.