mislead

verb

mis·​lead ˌmis-ˈlēd 

misled ˌmis-ˈled  ; misleading

transitive verb

: to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit

His comments were a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

intransitive verb

: to lead astray : give a wrong impression

exciting as they are, they mislead

—E. M. Forster

misleader noun

misleadingly

ˌmis-ˈlē-diŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• bamboozle
• beguile
• bluff
• buffalo
• burn
• catch
• con
• cozen
• deceive
• delude
• dupe
• fake out
• fool
• gaff
• gammon
• gull
• have
• have on [chiefly British]
• hoax
• hoodwink
• hornswoggle
• humbug
• juggle
• misguide
• misinform
• snooker
• snow
• spoof
• string along
• suck in
• sucker
• take in
• trick

Choose the Right Synonym for mislead

deceive, mislead, delude, beguile mean to lead astray or frustrate usually by underhandedness.

deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness.

tried to deceive me about the cost

mislead implies a leading astray that may or may not be intentional.

I was misled by the confusing sign

delude implies deceiving so thoroughly as to obscure the truth.

we were deluded into thinking we were safe

beguile stresses the use of charm and persuasion in deceiving.

was beguiled by false promises

Examples of mislead in a Sentence

We believe that her comments were deliberately meant to mislead the public.

We believe that her comments were deliberately meant to mislead.

Recent Examples on the Web

More than 10,000 cardholders, according to the CFPB, were misled by Goldman Sachs about how the bank would apply certain refunds between the two balances. —Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2024

How political fundraisers have misled hundreds of elderly Americans into donating millions of dollars. —Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024

The lawsuit, filed by investors in 2018, alleges that Nvidia misled shareholders by attributing its explosive growth to gaming demand, while downplaying the substantial revenue generated from cryptocurrency mining. —Tonya Evans, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

In a Traitors-esque twist, the Master of the Game has secretly recruited one contestant as an accomplice to mislead the others. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

mislead

verb

mis·​lead (ˈ)mis-ˈlēd 

misled -ˈled  ; misleading

: to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief

misleading adjective

Legal Definition

mislead

verb

mis·​lead mis-ˈlēd 

misled -ˈled  ; misleading

transitive verb

: to lead into a mistaken action or belief : to cause to have a false impression

intransitive verb

: to create a false impression compare deceive