misinformation

noun

mis·​in·​for·​ma·​tion ˌmis-ˌin-fər-ˈmā-shən 

: incorrect or misleading information

Indubitably, a great deal of paranoid and otherwise irresponsible misinformation about the Kennedy assassination has traveled far and sold well …

—Ronnie Dugger

A muddle of misinformation keeps clouding the debate over hormone-replacement therapy for women.

—Melinda Beck

Each of these pieces of information (and misinformation) about me is sold for about two-fifths of a cent to advertisers, which then deliver me an Internet ad, send me a catalog or mail me a credit-card offer.

—Joel Stein

Examples of misinformation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Public sparring often gives misinformation a much larger audience. — Brian Taylor, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Fueled by misinformation, poverty and lack of opportunities, more than 70,000 would-be migrants from Morocco and beyond swam or climbed over a breakwater last month to try to reach Ceuta, a Spanish exclave on the North African coast. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

The mRNA technology, famously used in Covid-19 vaccines, has been the subject of widespread anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 13 Aug. 2026

Information fatigue, misinformation fatigue, cost-of-living fatigue, fear-of-dying fatigue, outrage fatigue, relationship fatigue, dystopia fatigue. — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misinformation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration