Synonyms of misleading

misleading 1 of 2

adjective

as in deceptive

tending or having power to deceive

the misleading text of the advertisement would like you to believe that you're getting something for nothing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceptive
• false
• incorrect
• ambiguous
• deceiving
• deceitful
• inaccurate
• specious
• fallacious
• delusive
• beguiling
• fraudulent
• delusory
• deluding
• subtle
• crooked
• dishonest
• puzzling
• perplexing
• wrong
• trick
• cunning
• lying
• tricky
• confounding
• untruthful
• distracting
• slick
• sneaky
• mendacious
• treacherous
• wily
• untrustworthy
• shifty
• artful
• underhanded
• duplicitous
• shady
• artificial
• counterfeit
• crafty
• sly
• bewildering
• foxy
• subtile
• fake
• devious
• bogus
• spurious
• forged
• insidious
• underhand
• evasive
• faithless
• trickish
• hypocritical
• perfidious
• guileful
• equivocal
• insincere
• phony
• sham
• feigned
• dissembling
• ambidextrous
• defrauding
• knavish
• jive
• circuitous
• sneaking
• fast
• backhanded
• double-dealing
• two-faced
• left-handed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightforward
• forthright
• direct
• plain
• frank
• open
• candid
• straight
• outspoken
• nondeceptive
• illuminating
• explanatory
• aboveboard
• revealing
• clarifying
• truthful
• revelatory
• plainspoken
• honest
• openhearted
• trustworthy
• free-spoken
• elucidative
• foursquare

misleading

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mislead

as in deceiving

to cause to believe what is untrue

the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceiving
• tricking
• fooling
• misguiding
• misinforming
• kidding
• teasing
• deluding
• duping
• bamboozling
• beguiling
• suckering
• gulling
• hoaxing
• hoodwinking
• cheating
• humbugging
• bluffing
• stinging
• sucking in
• conning
• juggling
• spoofing
• cozening
• stringing along
• snookering
• taking in
• gaffing
• snowing
• faking out
• catching
• gammoning
• burning
• having on
• having
• hornswoggling
• buffaloing
• doing a number on
• pulling one's leg
• leading one down the garden path
• pulling the wool over one's eyes
• defrauding
• shortchanging
• swindling
• flimflamming
• sticking
• putting on
• fleecing
• bleeding
• mulcting
• hustling
• rooking
• diddling
• chiseling
• squeezing
• euchring
• skinning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• revealing
• exposing
• debunking
• uncovering
• disclosing
• telling
• unmasking
• showing up
• undeceiving
• divulging
• disillusioning
• unveiling
• disabusing
• uncloaking
• disenchanting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of misleading

Adjective

That’s misleading, the FTC said, since customers who know how prices are set could take defensive measures, such as using a private browsing session or a virtual private network to mask their browsing history. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2026

There are plenty of well-meaning people and experts posting content everyday, but both professors noted that even that material may be misleading, inconclusive or overly generalized. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Under federal debt collection rules, debt collectors generally can't harass you, make false or misleading representations or use unfair practices to collect a debt. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Joffe, who is also president of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association, attributes the misleading ballot measure language to polling firms that test different language on voters to see what might be the most successful. — Grace Hase, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026

If your certifications to the Department of Education were false, inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, come forward without delay. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026

The goal is to ensure the identity is accurate, approved and not misleading. — Emily Burroughs, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Using that study to characterize who holds the most influential jobs in sports media is grossly misleading. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Numerous studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy, but Republican senators have recently stirred up false and misleading claims that are now spreading on social media. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Verb

Roughly 7 in 10 people globally believe government officials, business leaders and journalists are deliberately misleading them. — Jamie Gutfreund, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Blue Origin also makes misleading claims about its rocket fuel. — Marissa E. Yingling, The Conversation, 12 Aug. 2026

That's an area of the company's business that came under scrutiny following a Wall Street Journal investigation that claimed the company conducted misleading marketing campaigns. — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Comey’s lawyers are pressing to have the case dismissed, accusing the department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts. — Alanna Durkin Richer, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026

But the company’s meteoric rise ground to a halt after a former Outcome analyst contacted the Wall Street Journal with allegations that the company was misleading pharmaceutical companies and inflating data. — Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Republicans have accused Fauci of misleading Americans about the the origins of the COVID-19 virus in 2020 and other matters related to the pandemic. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026

Pirro now accuses he Interior Department of misleading prosecutors on key facts, including that the Department withheld evidence that the lining had begun to peel within two days of the project’s completion. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Aug. 2026

This combination of misleading content and hikers unaware of factors like weather, technical clothing and time needed to complete a hike could be behind the rise in rescue call-outs. — Lea Tran, TheWeek, 30 July 2026