misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

misdirected; misdirecting; misdirects

transitive verb

1

: to give a wrong direction to

2

: to direct wrongly

misdirected their energies

Examples of misdirect in a Sentence

Their mail was misdirected to our address.

If he tells you he's not interested, he's trying to misdirect you.

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, paper refund checks sent by mail are 16 times more likely to have an issue—including getting lost, being misdirected, stolen or uncashed. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025

Caveats Of Interpersonal Gratitude When it is misdirected or inauthentic, gratitude can have unintended consequences. —Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

President Donald Trump loves being a disruptor, but his wrecking ball is mostly misdirected: tariff wars with Canada and Mexico, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, sneers at allies and cancelling USAID—these and similar actions are bad for Americans and terrible for the world. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

Still more wonder if those sharing information are merely trying to misdirect others. —Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misdirect

• architect
• circumspect
• deselect
• dialect
• disconnect
• disinfect
• disrespect
• incorrect
• indirect
• intellect
• interject
• intersect

Kids Definition

misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

: to direct incorrectly

misdirection

-ˈrek-shən

noun