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

When Balthy, in an act of misguided heroism, travels to Texas in an attempt to befriend Solomon and avert a possible tragedy, he is drawn into a dangerous and thrilling new world. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2026

That’s a triumph of bad optics and misguided priorities. —Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2026

Today’s fusion of private wealth and political power stems in part from a half-century of what many view as misguided Supreme Court decisions. —Daniel Weiner, Time, 9 Mar. 2026

Vaughn Hardenberg Westwood The Kings’ future is very dim with ownership (AEG) that doesn’t care about the success of the team and management that is clearly misguided. —Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 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