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

None of that is unreasonable, but the energy is usually misdirected. — Nick Damoulakis, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Ideas expressed in the piece The article argues that the glee over Tom Steyer’s loss in the California governor’s race reflects a broader, understandable anger at extreme wealth in an era of serf‑lord–level inequality, but contends that this anger is being misdirected at the wrong billionaire. — Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2026

Later in the first half against Liverpool, Dunk misdirected a chest pass meant for Verbruggen, which needlessly conceded a corner. — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026

Schmidt warned that false claims of this nature can carry serious consequences, including misdirecting law enforcement resources, damaging reputations and eroding public trust, issues now at the center of the lawsuit as the case moves forward. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 16 Apr. 2026

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