misdirect
Americanverb (used with object)
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misdirects,
present (3rd person singular)
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misdirected,
past participle, past
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misdirecting
present participle
verb
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to give (a person) wrong directions or instructions
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to address (a letter, parcel, etc) wrongly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misdirectsimple
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misdirectssimple
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have misdirectedperfect
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has misdirectedperfect
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am misdirectingprogressive
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are misdirectingprogressive
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is misdirectingprogressive
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have been misdirectingperfect progressive
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has been misdirectingperfect progressive
Past
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misdirectedsimple
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had misdirectedperfect
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was misdirectingprogressive
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were misdirectingprogressive
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had been misdirectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misdirect
Vocabulary lists containing misdirect
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:
He said Mr Justice Bright did misdirect the jury about the waiver, but only on it being potentially "decisive" if it were a civil trial instead of a criminal one.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
They are so smart, often harder to misdirect, harder to kind of just psychologically go the way that you predict.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
So juxtaposing that line with footage of the adult Yellowjackets being threatened with evidence of their shared past — again — could be a misdirect.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2025
We can’t afford to let the banks misdirect us again.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2024
“Somehow we think it is funny to misdirect people and we don’t smile when we do it, but we laugh inwardly. It is our nature.”
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
She misdirects him to an empty stall, then slips out behind him and pulls the door shut, using her whole body to prevent him from opening it.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
My brother and I worked really hard in the writing to answer all the questions for ourselves, but then to create all these misdirects for the audience.
From The Verge ● Oct. 18, 2019
A master magician with words, Deaver misdirects with one tale while what's really going on is just off the reader's radar.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2013
The Colts were not going to trade that pick, and despite Jim Irsay’s misdirects, they weren’t going to take Griffin.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2012
A writer misdirects his talent if he lowers his standard of excellence.
From The Principles of Success in Literature by George Henry Lewes
They also said the judge misdirected the jury about evidence from another of the participants.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Today’s critique of land power isn’t entirely wrong, but it is misdirected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
By the time couples notice, the pressure is already there, and it often gets misdirected at each other.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 20, 2026
Rather than reflecting a loss of control due to runaway habits, some compulsive behaviors may result from excessive, though misdirected, deliberate control.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
Wintergreen, who also wanted to be a general and who always distorted, destroyed, rejected or misdirected any correspondence by, for or about Colonel Cathcart that might do him credit.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Furious, Strowger blamed the operators for misdirecting calls meant for him to his competitors, and set about inventing a bias-free, electromechanical machine to replace them.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
As Elizabeth asks questions of Gracie, she is fishing for insights into her character — and Gracie may be withholding or even misdirecting.
From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2023
In a 2013 lawsuit, Harry accused Daniel of misdirecting $6.5 million in corporate funds “for the purpose of advancing the international cart racing activities” of his sons, Logan and Dalton; that litigation was eventually settled.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2023
However, euphemisms often have the unintended consequences of misdirecting the conversation and maintaining the status quo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
Deliberately misdirecting a call would not be an infraction, it would be grounds for dismissal.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
