mislead

verb

mis·​lead ˌmis-ˈlēd 

misled ˌmis-ˈled  ; misleading

transitive verb

: to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit

His comments were a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

intransitive verb

: to lead astray : give a wrong impression

Exciting as they are, they mislead.

—E. M. Forster

misleader noun

misleadingly

ˌmis-ˈlē-diŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of mislead

• deceive
• fool
• trick

Choose the Right Synonym for mislead

deceive, mislead, delude, beguile mean to lead astray or frustrate usually by underhandedness.

deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness.

tried to deceive me about the cost

mislead implies a leading astray that may or may not be intentional.

I was misled by the confusing sign

delude implies deceiving so thoroughly as to obscure the truth.

we were deluded into thinking we were safe

beguile stresses the use of charm and persuasion in deceiving.

was beguiled by false promises

Examples of mislead in a Sentence

We believe that her comments were deliberately meant to mislead the public.

We believe that her comments were deliberately meant to mislead.

Recent Examples on the Web

The word and the concept of disinformation originated in the Soviet Union in the 1940s, coined by Stalin’s intelligence services, to describe creating false information to mislead people. —Richard Stengel, Time, 24 Nov. 2025

Russia’s latest operation involves flooding the Internet with disinformation to mislead chatbots. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2025

Legal sports wagering has also faced an onslaught of criticism as detractors point to addiction concerns, predatory or misleading advertising and its impact on the integrity of sporting events. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 Nov. 2025

The judge’s order is partially redacted, but Halligan appears to have misled the grand jurors about Comey’s constitutional right not to testify. —Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for mislead

• accede
• agreed
• airspeed
• alkyd
• bindweed
• chickweed
• concede
• decreed
• duckweed
• exceed
• flaxseed
• impede

Kids Definition

mislead

verb

mis·​lead (ˈ)mis-ˈlēd 

misled -ˈled  ; misleading

: to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief

misleading adjective

Legal Definition

mislead

verb

mis·​lead mis-ˈlēd 

misled -ˈled  ; misleading

transitive verb

: to lead into a mistaken action or belief : to cause to have a false impression

intransitive verb

: to create a false impression compare deceive