mislead

[mis-leed]

verb (used with object)

misled, misleading 

1. to lead or guide wrongly; lead astray.

   Synonyms: misdirect, misguide

2. to lead into error of conduct, thought, or judgment.

   Synonyms: deceive, delude

verb (used without object)

misled, misleading 

1. to be misleading; tend to deceive.

   vague directions that often mislead.

mislead

/ mɪsˈliːd /

verb

1. to give false or misleading information to

2. to lead or guide in the wrong direction

Other Word Forms

• misleader noun
• unmisled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mislead¹

before 1050; Middle English misleden, Old English mislǣdan. See mis- ¹, lead ¹

Example Sentences

Comparing India's AQI to WHO or US standards can thus be misleading.

Read more on BBC

Each side accused the other of negotiating in bad faith and of misleading consumers about the issues dividing them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The former Brazilian ambassador in London and Washington, Rubens Barbosa, told the BBC earlier this year that he believed this amounted to spreading misleading information in Brazil.

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Regulators have also worried that consumers could be misled about the safety of stablecoins and that they could be used to facilitate money laundering and other criminal activity.

Read more on MarketWatch

The review found that the news network repeatedly provided a misleading picture of what was happening in Portland.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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