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

On Monday Marshall initially suggested that honing in on the cause of the crash based on preliminary evidence would be misguided. —Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2025

Chau, while misguided, was a young man who was looking for purpose and connection amid the uncertainties of the world. —Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025

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

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