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

Dobrofsky, a screenwriter with an excellent Substack aimed at those who still want to pursue the inside track in Hollywood, explains why some younger writers have embraced a misguided pivot towards treatments and pitch decks instead of writing scripts on spec. —Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 May 2026

The city and its homeless population are suffering from misguided priorities in tackling the homelessness issue. —Teresa Liu, Daily News, 4 May 2026

This misguided motion by a Democratic Socialist councilmember deserves a loud, emphatic no vote from the full City Council. —Matt Klink, Oc Register, 1 May 2026

Some patients, particularly the younger ones, are coming in after using AI to diagnose their symptoms — or their parents, suggesting all kinds of misguided illnesses. —Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 29 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