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

Mick Cronin is a classic bully, and the fact that UCLA continues to empower him with new contracts and no questions is misguided malfeasance. —Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

This defeatist thinking is misguided and assumes action will be futile. —Jim Costa, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026

Even when working within the constraints of Interior’s own misguided directive, there is an obvious exception that would apply to the pride flag flown at Stonewall, which is for flags that provide historical context. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026

Even asking this next question is a little misguided because rookie year impact is only a fraction of the equation, but who would the Broncos have been far better off drafting? —Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 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