mislead
verb
mis·lead ˌmis-ˈlēd 
misled ˌmis-ˈled ; misleading
; 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
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 And then there are political cheap shots that serve only to mislead the public for partisan gain. Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 28 June 2022 The spread of this disinformation, which is disseminated with ease throughout the media, is designed to mislead the public as to who the real inflation culprits are. Kevin Dowd, National Review, 6 May 2022 But once teachers adopt this supposedly scientific approach, their intuition can mislead them to believe it’s working. Natalie Wexler, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2022 Former President Donald Trump told a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had mislead him about his voting history. Grayson Quay, The Week, 10 July 2022 If the public now starts seeing confirmation hearings as a venue for the justices to mislead lawmakers and the public, then the only reason to hold them is to undermine the courts’ legitimacy. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 28 June 2022 Don't let that prime location mislead you, though; the hotel is the epitome of serenity. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 18 June 2022 The next year, Twitter rolled out new policies that were intended to prevent the spread of misinformation in future elections, banning tweets that could dissuade people from voting or mislead them about how to do so. New York Times, 28 Apr. 2022 Some Michigan voters said signature-gatherers tried to mislead them by claiming the initiative would ease the pressure on Whitmer or help small businesses, the Detroit Free Press reported. Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2022 See More
Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 28 June 2022 The spread of this disinformation, which is disseminated with ease throughout the media, is designed to mislead the public as to who the real inflation culprits are. Kevin Dowd, National Review, 6 May 2022 But once teachers adopt this supposedly scientific approach, their intuition can mislead them to believe it’s working. Natalie Wexler, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2022 Former President Donald Trump told a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had mislead him about his voting history. Grayson Quay, The Week, 10 July 2022 If the public now starts seeing confirmation hearings as a venue for the justices to mislead lawmakers and the public, then the only reason to hold them is to undermine the courts’ legitimacy. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 28 June 2022 Don't let that prime location mislead you, though; the hotel is the epitome of serenity. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 18 June 2022 The next year, Twitter rolled out new policies that were intended to prevent the spread of misinformation in future elections, banning tweets that could dissuade people from voting or mislead them about how to do so. New York Times, 28 Apr. 2022 Some Michigan voters said signature-gatherers tried to mislead them by claiming the initiative would ease the pressure on Whitmer or help small businesses, the Detroit Free Press reported. Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Kids Definition
mislead
verb
mis·lead mis-ˈlēd
misled
-ˈled
; misleading : to cause (someone) to believe something that is not true His comments were intended to mislead the public.
Legal Definition
mislead
verb
mis·lead mis-ˈlēd
misled -ˈled ; misleading
; 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
mislead
verb
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
Relevance
- deceive
- fool
- trick
- misinform
- delude
- tease
- misguide
- hoodwink
- dupe
- beguile
- bamboozle
- hoax
- kid
- sucker
- cheat
- humbug
- con
- bluff
- suck in
- catch
- sting
- gull
- cozen
- have
- buffalo
- spoof
- juggle
- gaff
- have on
- snooker
- string along
- take in
- snow
- gammon
- burn
- hornswoggle
- fake out
- lead one up the garden path
- do a number on
- lead one down the garden path
- defraud
- pull one's leg
- shortchange
- pull the wool over one's eyes
- swindle
- put on
- stick
- flimflam
- bleed
- diddle
- mulct
- fleece
- hustle
- skin
- euchre
- rook
- chisel
- squeeze
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- undeceive
- reveal
- expose
- tell
- disclose
- debunk
- unmask
- uncover
- divulge
- disabuse
- disillusion
- show up
- unveil
- uncloak
- disenchant
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of mislead are beguile, deceive, and delude. While all these words mean "to lead astray or frustrate usually by underhandedness," mislead implies a leading astray that may or may not be intentional.
I was misled by the confusing sign
In some situations, the words beguile and mislead are roughly equivalent. However, beguile stresses the use of charm and persuasion in deceiving.
was beguiled by false promises
While in some cases nearly identical to mislead, deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness.
tried to deceive me about the cost
While the synonyms delude and mislead are close in meaning, delude implies deceiving so thoroughly as to obscure the truth.
we were deluded into thinking we were safe