misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

misdirected; misdirecting; misdirects

transitive verb

1

: to give a wrong direction to

2

: to direct wrongly

misdirected their energies

Examples of misdirect in a Sentence

Their mail was misdirected to our address.

If he tells you he's not interested, he's trying to misdirect you.

Recent Examples on the Web

But those questions are misdirected. —Harvard Business Review, 5 Nov. 2025

That's not with decoys, that's not with other means that would try to misdirect our interceptors from knocking down incoming missiles with nuclear warheads on them. —ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025

Simply delaying or misdirecting DNS can break authentication between users and services, block transactions or erode public trust at sensitive moments. —Doug Jacobson, The Conversation, 31 Oct. 2025

Advertisement President Trump's speech to the Knesset showcased a leader whose instincts—if properly guided—can lead to major diplomatic breakthroughs, but his approach is risky when those instincts are misdirected. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 15 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misdirect

• architect
• circumspect
• deselect
• dialect
• disconnect
• disinfect
• disrespect
• incorrect
• indirect
• intellect
• interject
• intersect

Kids Definition

misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

: to direct incorrectly

misdirection

-ˈrek-shən

noun