misdirection

[ mis-di-rek-shuhn ]

/ ˌmɪs dɪˈrɛk ʃən /

Save This Word!

a wrong or incorrect direction, guidance, or instruction.

Law. an erroneous charge to the jury by a judge.

QUIZZES

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.

Question 1 of 7

Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?

First recorded in 1760–70; mis-¹ + direction

But under what moral principle must a nation mimic both the madness and the misdirection of its enemy?
Numbers Don’t Tell the Mideast Story|Thane Rosenbaum|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The constant disinformation, distraction, misdirection, confabulation, and endless stream of threats actually works.
Al-Dura Report: Smear Tactics That Work|Emily L. Hauser|May 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Is this a Benghazi misdirection from those masters of deception in the White House, a latter day Whitewater?
Hillary Clinton Faints: What Caused It?|Kent Sepkowitz|December 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This misdirection is also likely what led CNN and Fox News to mistakenly report that the mandate had been struck down.
Did Chief Justice Roberts Take a Cue From Two Centuries Ago?|Chris Geidner|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST

In that regard, Eisner proved confounding, with his comments reading more like misdirection than tea leaves.
Michael Eisner on Media's Future|Peter Lauria|September 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It affected him as a part of the general misdirection of affection and effort in the world.
Wayside Courtships|Hamlin Garland
The plea was misdirection and want of time, so that, in itself, the matter was one of secondary importance.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II)|Charles James Lever
This fatal result of an enthusiasm for classical literature was hastened and heightened by the misdirection of the powers of art.
The Stones of Venice, Volume III (of 3)|John Ruskin
The mistake arose from a misdirection in two notes which the admiral had written on the same subject.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLII. Vol. LV. April, 1844|Various
Trousseau says that it is produced by a misdirection of the natural pigments of the body, resulting from age, climate, or disease.
An Investigation into the Nature of Black Phthisis|Archibald Makellar