misdirection

noun mis·di·rec·tion \ -ˈrek-shən \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of misdirection

1 : a wrong direction

2 a : the act or an instance of misdirecting or diverting

b : the state of being misdirected

Recent Examples of misdirection from the Web

What Giuliani said upended months of White House misdirection on the Daniels subject.

— z. byron wolf, CNN, "It is officially impossible to understand what Trump is saying about Stormy Daniels," 4 May 2018
And the plot, with its elaborate weave of suspicion and misdirection, has been distilled into a series of associative montages.

— justin chang, chicagotribune.com, "'The Green Fog' review: A scrambled history of San Francisco and an homage to 'Vertigo'," 26 Apr. 2018
One who relies on misdirection and savvy as opposed to say … hops.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "MSU's Joshua Langford learning to play in Miles Bridges' shadow," 18 Mar. 2018
Skilled as Trump has been at deploying suspense, misdirection and invective to his advantage over the last 15 months, the Trump reality show appears closer than ever to colliding with reality itself.

— brian bennett, Time, "Donald Trump Relied on Michael Cohen to Weather the Storm. Now The President Is On His Own," 12 Apr. 2018
As the world blames it for a poison attack on British soil, the Russian government has launched what critics call a campaign of misdirection.

— avi selk, Washington Post, "Russia claims a poisoned spy’s dead cat and guinea pigs hold clues to British conspiracy," 6 Apr. 2018
Though his singing was never less than precise or elegant, Brownlee’s characteristically forthright clarity proved less persuasive here, in a work so full of emotional shadows and misdirection.

— joshua kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, "Brownlee unveils a new song cycle on themes of race and hope," 1 Apr. 2018
Football is a game of deception and misdirection, especially in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft when every team is trying to throw the rest of the world off the scent.

— sam farmer, latimes.com, "Price tag for Rams and Chargers' stadium nears $3 billion, prompting NFL rule change," 28 Mar. 2018
Kirk was a key cog in Kevin Sumlin's high-octane Aggie offense, while Chark progressed and grew in Baton Rouge as a player that was primarily used for screens, reverses and misdirection, to a home run deep threat.

— clyde verdin, NOLA.com, "Where do the Saints turn for help at wide receiver?," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misdirection.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.