misinform
Americanverb (used with object)
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misinforms,
present (3rd person singular)
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misinformed,
past participle, past
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misinforming
present participle
verb
Usage
What's the difference between misinform and disinform? To misinform someone is to provide them with false information, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is being done intentionally. Disinform, which is much less commonly used, means to intentionally provide or spread false information with the intent to mislead or deceive. This distinction can also be seen in the difference between their verb forms, misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation refers to false information, regardless of whether or not it’s intended to mislead or deceive people. In contrast, disinformation refers to false information that’s spread with the specific intent of misleading or deceiving people. Due to their similarity, the terms are sometimes used in overlapping ways. All disinformation is misinformation, but not all misinformation is disinformation. Disinformation is the more specific of the two because it always implies that the false information is being provided or spread on purpose. Disinform and disinformation are especially used in the context of large-scale deception, such as a disinformation campaign by a government that targets the population of another country. On the other hand, a person can intentionally misinform someone, but they could also misinform someone by telling them false information that they believe to be true. The adjective misinformed can be used to describe people who have been the recipient of misinformation. One way to remember the difference between misinform and disinform is to remember that to misinform can be a mistake, while to disinform is always dishonest. Here’s an example of misinform and disinform used correctly in a sentence. Example: The intelligence report concluded that the rumors spread prior to the election were not simply the result of a few random people misinforming others, but rather of a coordinated campaign by a foreign power to disinform the electorate. Want to learn more? Read the breakdown of the difference between misinformation and disinformation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misinformsimple
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misinformssimple
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have misinformedperfect
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has misinformedperfect
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am misinformingprogressive
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are misinformingprogressive
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is misinformingprogressive
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have been misinformingperfect progressive
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has been misinformingperfect progressive
Past
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misinformedsimple
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had misinformedperfect
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was misinformingprogressive
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were misinformingprogressive
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had been misinformingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misinform
First recorded in 1350–1400, misinform is from the Middle English word misenfourmen. See mis- 1, inform 1
Explanation
When you misinform someone, you give them the wrong information. If you misinform your friend about what homework is due tomorrow, he may do the wrong math problems. It's possible to misinform people on purpose (deliberately giving them false information), or accidentally. To inform someone is to provide them with information — to educate or advise them about something. Inform comes from a Latin root, informare, "train or instruct," and literally "shape or form." Adding the "wrong" or "not" prefix mis- gives you misinform, "to instruct in the wrong way."
Vocabulary lists containing misinform
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It said that “nobody is allowed to terrorize and misinform the public” on public health issues.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
He accused Media Matters of creating an alternative account designed to "misinform advertisers" about their posts.
From Reuters ● Nov. 18, 2023
“It loses credibility, but it doesn’t misinform voters. The problem is that today it’s always being presented as an absolute truth.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2022
Their manifestos and writings show they were well-versed in the online subcultures, conspiracy theories and memes, and used those to deliberately "troll" or misinform.
From BBC ● May 17, 2022
He can enlighten or misinform, persuade or threaten, reward or punish.
From A Handbook of Ethical Theory by George Stuart Fullerton
While we appreciate Seattle Times coverage of priorities such as public safety, lumping all nine independently elected individuals together as “the council” misinforms readers and ignores the diverse views of our local legislative branch.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
Mozilla senior director of advocacy Brandy Guerkink says “YouTube needs to admit their algorithm is designed in a way that harms and misinforms people.”
From The Verge ● Jul. 7, 2021
Once absorbed into received knowledge, such research misinforms subsequent scientific judgments.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 27, 2020
Enough running attention-grabbing news coverage that not only misinforms the public, but endangers the very community members you serve.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2019
In the final test, they provided much more detail about the specific flaws in the Oregon Petition, and how it misinforms people.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 24, 2017
The study states that the false belief has led "to negative consequences, including misinformed risk‐taking by those encountering snakes, unwarranted fear among snakebite victims, and inappropriate care delivered by misinformed or patient/family‐pressured medical professionals."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Rama has pivoted between downplaying the protesters as misinformed and dismissing the movement as foreign-backed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Once a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show,” he landed his own Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report,” where he played a bloviating, misinformed character, also named Stephen Colbert.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley had accused the Green leader of amplifying "inaccurate and misinformed commentary", in a letter to the politician sent out by the force on Thursday.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Well-meaning but misinformed people think animals in the wild are “happy” because they are “free”.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Musk is not really a fanatical opponent of typical media outlets because he thinks they’re misinforming the public.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2024
Romanian officials are not explaining their previous vehement denials of the drone incident, although the defence minister is taking the blame for "misinforming" the country's president.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2023
Ellemann-Jensen has apologized for misinforming parliament over a rushed Israeli arms deal to replace Denmark’s howitzers that were donated to Ukraine in January.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
Glasscock also rejected the shareholders’ allegations that Ellison and Oracle CEO Safra Catz breached duties of loyalty by misinforming the special committee and concealing material facts regarding the acquisition.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
Having held me up as dangerous, when in truth I am a peaceably disposed man, they have wronged me while misinforming the public.'
From The Adventures of My Cousin Smooth by Timothy Templeton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
