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

The play-in tournament, in all of its misguided glory, is a quintessential, empty-the-tank moment for the lowly teams that are subjected to play in it. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026

Thanks to the unbelievably reckless fiscal policies of Maryland Democrats, residents are now supposed to celebrate the governor and the General Assembly for generously granting us a paltry break on the completely misguided EmPOWER Maryland surcharge. —Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 15 Apr. 2026

Butterfly Jam revolves around a teenager growing up in New Jersey’s Circassian community, with dreams of becoming a wrestler, whose life takes an unexpected turn when one of his father’s misguided schemes goes wrong. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2026

Yet too often, access to these resources is blocked by misguided government policies. —Paige Gilliard, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 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