misguide

verb

mis·​guide ˌmis-ˈgīd 

misguided; misguiding; misguides

transitive verb

: to lead astray : misdirect

prejudice misguides our minds

misguider noun

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
• misinform
• mislead
• snooker
• snow
• spoof
• string along
• suck in
• sucker
• take in
• trick

Examples of misguide in a Sentence

we were misguided by the flashy advertisements for what turned out to be pretty lousy pizza

Recent Examples on the Web

Newsom’s office fired back at Trump on social media, however, saying his criticism was misguided. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025

Over At Least One Hapless Russian In hindsight, some Gen Zers are questioning their parents' advice, feeling that the push toward expensive university education may have been misguided. —Jack Kelly, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

Miguel got deferred from Stanford and thinks winning the Sekai Taikai as a captain will solidify an acceptance, thanks to some well-meaning but possibly misguided encouragement from Sam. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 18 July 2024

Supporters of the regional transportation tax called the lawsuit misguided, arguing an overwhelming majority of voters passed the measure and that challenging it would be detrimental to the Valley's economy. —Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

misguide

verb

mis·​guide (ˈ)mis-ˈgīd 

: to lead astray : mislead

misguidance

-ˈgīd-ᵊn(t)s

noun