misguided

adjective

mis·​guid·​ed (ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd How to pronounce misguided (audio)
: led or prompted by wrong or inappropriate motives or ideals
well-meaning but misguided do-gooders
misguidedly adverb
misguidedness 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 But this vision in our current geopolitical and multidomain reality is misguided. Charles Beames, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Especially misguided is his push for the creation of a Palestinian state. WSJ, 20 Nov. 2023 Odegard that four decades after a misguided approach to diagnosing dyslexia kept him from getting help in school, thousands of children across the U.S. are needlessly suffering for the same reason. Sarah Carr, Scientific American, 16 Nov. 2023 The tone, which seemingly changes by the minute, is off from the start and leaves an utterly charmless trail of half-baked ideas and misguided attempts at subversive edginess in its wake. Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Nov. 2023 But their belief that stronger unions would solve the party’s problems is misguided. Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 9 Nov. 2023 Sullivan’s solution to the United States’ domestic challenges is misguided. Ryan Hass, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023 What is being put in place today is a misguided set of laws that remove the incentive for water agencies to invest in water abundance. Edward Ring, National Review, 3 Nov. 2023 Lam pointed to a drive in recent years by the authorities to remove the city’s famous neon lights in the name of safety as an example of the current misguided approach, saying Hong Kong’s most defining nighttime icons were being dismantled one sign at a time. Chris Lau, CNN, 3 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misguided.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1500, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misguided was in 1500

Dictionary Entries Near misguided

Cite this Entry

“Misguided.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misguided. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!