Synonyms of mislead

mislead 1 of 3

verb (1)

ˌmis-ˈlēd 

as in to deceive

to cause to believe what is untrue

the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceive
• fool
• trick
• misinform
• delude
• misguide
• tease
• hoodwink
• dupe
• beguile
• bamboozle
• kid
• cheat
• hoax
• suck in
• sucker
• bluff
• humbug
• con
• sting
• cozen
• juggle
• spoof
• gull
• buffalo
• catch
• have on
• string along
• have
• gaff
• take in
• burn
• snow
• hornswoggle
• gammon
• fake out
• do a number on
• snooker
• lead one up the garden path
• lead one down the garden path
• defraud
• pull one's leg
• shortchange
• pull the wool over one's eyes
• swindle
• put on
• stick
• bleed
• mulct
• diddle
• hustle
• fleece
• flimflam
• skin
• squeeze
• euchre
• rook
• chisel

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• undeceive
• reveal
• expose
• tell
• uncover
• disclose
• unmask
• debunk
• show up
• divulge
• unveil
• disabuse
• disillusion
• uncloak
• disenchant

misleading

2 of 3

adjective

as in deceptive

tending or having power to deceive

the misleading text of the advertisement would like you to believe that you're getting something for nothing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceptive
• false
• incorrect
• ambiguous
• deceiving
• deceitful
• inaccurate
• specious
• fallacious
• delusive
• beguiling
• fraudulent
• delusory
• deluding
• subtle
• crooked
• dishonest
• puzzling
• perplexing
• wrong
• trick
• cunning
• lying
• tricky
• confounding
• untruthful
• slick
• distracting
• sneaky
• mendacious
• treacherous
• wily
• untrustworthy
• shifty
• artful
• shady
• underhanded
• duplicitous
• artificial
• counterfeit
• crafty
• sly
• bewildering
• foxy
• subtile
• fake
• devious
• bogus
• forged
• spurious
• insidious
• underhand
• evasive
• faithless
• trickish
• hypocritical
• perfidious
• phoney
• guileful
• equivocal
• insincere
• phony
• sham
• feigned
• dissembling
• ambidextrous
• defrauding
• knavish
• jive
• circuitous
• sneaking
• fast
• backhanded
• double-dealing
• two-faced
• left-handed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightforward
• forthright
• direct
• plain
• frank
• open
• candid
• straight
• outspoken
• nondeceptive
• illuminating
• explanatory
• aboveboard
• revealing
• clarifying
• truthful
• revelatory
• plainspoken
• honest
• openhearted
• trustworthy
• free-spoken
• elucidative
• foursquare

misleading

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of mislead

as in deceiving

to cause to believe what is untrue

the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceiving
• tricking
• fooling
• misguiding
• misinforming
• kidding
• teasing
• deluding
• duping
• bamboozling
• beguiling
• suckering
• gulling
• hoaxing
• hoodwinking
• cheating
• humbugging
• bluffing
• stinging
• sucking in
• conning
• juggling
• spoofing
• cozening
• stringing along
• snookering
• taking in
• gaffing
• snowing
• catching
• faking out
• gammoning
• burning
• having on
• having
• hornswoggling
• buffaloing
• doing a number on
• leading one up the garden path
• pulling one's leg
• leading one down the garden path
• pulling the wool over one's eyes
• defrauding
• shortchanging
• swindling
• sticking
• putting on
• fleecing
• bleeding
• mulcting
• flimflamming
• hustling
• rooking
• chiselling
• diddling
• chiseling
• squeezing
• euchring
• skinning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• revealing
• exposing
• debunking
• uncovering
• disclosing
• telling
• unmasking
• showing up
• undeceiving
• divulging
• disillusioning
• unveiling
• disabusing
• uncloaking
• disenchanting

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of mislead

Verb

Makary has lamented that drugmakers used misleading data to urge doctors to prescribe OxyContin and other opioids as low-risk, non-addictive pain relievers. —CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024

The law, set to go into effect next year, also gives election officials and candidates the power to sue in response to misleading election deepfakes. —Will McCurdy, PCMAG, 17 Nov. 2024

Verb

Google is injecting its search engine with more artificial intelligence that will enable people to voice questions about images and occasionally organize an entire page of results, despite the technology’s past misadventures with misleading information. —Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024

Understanding Fake Reviews Fake reviews are deliberately misleading statements designed to manipulate public opinion. —Lauren Parr, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024