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

Many Silicon Valley leaders already dismiss the Church’s input as a misguided attempt to slow them down. —Elias Wachtel, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2026

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, the race’s overall front-runner, dismissed the Democratic contenders seeking Newsom’s seal of approval as misguided and a waste of time. —Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2026

But then again, Hacks has always been a show about following your dreams — no matter how misguided. —Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2026

The party convened the liter- and glitterati of 1970s New York City to support one of the politically active Bernstein’s many causes, but critics like Wolfe interpreted the event as misguided. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2026

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