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

That is inaccurate, not what the investigation covers, and viral posts on X are misleading people either through incompetence or purposefully misleading information. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accuse Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, fueling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about their safety. — Reuters, NBC news, 20 Aug. 2026

The term refers to when tobacco companies in the 1990s were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and subsequently saw their power and influence dramatically diminished. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026

Republicans who claim that democratic socialists are like communists are either misinformed or deliberately using misleading rhetoric for political advantage. — Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2026

The highest-profile prosecution focuses on the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is accused of misleading donors and banks by funneling money to informants for white supremacist groups. — Gabe Kaminsky, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026

Four states have accused the company of designing its social media platform to hook children, prioritizing engagement over user safety, misleading the public about the associated risks and illegally gathering data on minors. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026

Nonetheless, his campaign stunt reflects a broader pattern of misleading claims. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 16 Aug. 2026

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