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

In Spain, Repsol won a case this year against Iberdrola, which had accused its rival of misleading advertising with slogans such as "an energy company committed to a sustainable world".

Read more on Barron's

The Democrats’ latest scare is based on a misleading study.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

KFF’s misleading claim about premiums’ doubling echoes the maxim of not letting a good crisis go to waste, even if one has to use deceptive rhetoric to overstate the supposed “crisis.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Newsom’s press office accused the federal government in a post on X of misleading Californians about live munitions being fired over the freeway and saying the governor was overreacting when he issued the freeway closure.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

TotalEnergies maintains it has not engaged in misleading commercial practices and that it is "simplistic" to immediately stop using fossil fuels.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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