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 of mislead

• deceive
• fool
• 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

The president’s economic narrative—eggs down, oil coming down, stocks up, 401(k)s flush—is accurate in pieces and misleading in sum. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 July 2026

Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Knowingly lying to or misleading Congress could be a crime. — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 23 July 2026

Novo sues Lilly amid escalating weight-loss rivalry Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly on Tuesday, accusing the US drug giant of misleading advertising practices. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 22 July 2026

As the battle for dominance in the growing GLP-1 industry continues, Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, sued Eli Lilly on Tuesday, accusing the drugmaker of misleading advertising. — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for mislead

• accede
• agreed
• airspeed
• alkyd
• bindweed
• chickweed
• concede
• decreed
• duckweed
• exceed
• flaxseed
• impede

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