misguided

adjective

mis·​guid·​ed (ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd 

: led or prompted by wrong or inappropriate motives or ideals

well-meaning but misguided do-gooders

misguidedly

(ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd-lē 

adverb

misguidedness

(ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd-nəs 

noun

Examples of misguided in a Sentence

She's been getting a lot of bad advice from misguided friends.

He blames the crisis on the government's misguided economic policies.

a misguided attempt to help

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2023, technology activist and science fiction author Cory Doctorow described how internet platforms that start out serving their users eventually decay through a series of self-interested and misguided choices, negatively affecting the quality of experience for everyone who uses the platform. —Christine Rosen, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025

There is some hope, albeit misguided, that smartphone production can happen in the US. —Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 17 Apr. 2025

In which case the constitutionally correct answer is for Congress to assert itself so that the misguided CFPB cannot. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025

Wars are often launched in the misguided belief that the population of the opposing power will soon buckle under an attack. —Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1500, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misguided

• abided
• collided
• confided
• decided
• derided
• divided
• elided
• lopsided
• nitrided
• presided
• provided
• resided