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

An analyzer may be accurate in the laboratory but slow or misleading in the field. — Gregory Shahnovsky, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

The title and summary of a Florida property tax cut proposal to be placed on the November ballot contain political rhetoric and are misleading, and must be redrafted, a judge has ruled. — South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026

This assertion kicked off more than 20 minutes of contentious back-and-forth, in which Kennedy made a number of false and misleading statements about a range of topics including measles, autism and Lyme disease. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

His ruling aligned with the plaintiffs who argued the ballot language is misleading. — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026

The title and summary of a property tax cut proposal to be placed on the November ballot contain political rhetoric and are misleading, and must be redrafted, a Leon Circuit Court judge ruled late Monday. — CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026

The state initiative, known as Proposition 39, drew dueling lawsuits this week over the ballot language that both sides are calling misleading. — Grace Hase, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026

The misleading comments and images posted by Vance, Jenrick, Farage, and Weidel nevertheless remain online, with no correction or retraction. — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026

Pruitt’s interest in opera is genuine, but the flourish is misleading. — Carson Griffith, New Yorker, 30 July 2026

Verb

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

By establishing a focused economic dashboard with reliable sources like FRED, executives can gain essential insights, avoid misleading headlines, and confidently navigate the economic landscape, ultimately freeing up valuable time and attention. — Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Even so, in my view, these allegations of misleading donors and wire fraud could be grounds for legal charges. — Sarah Webber, The Conversation, 6 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

This month, a bipartisan commission in Pennsylvania issued a report calling for quick action to address the gambling industry’s negative practices, including misleading marketing. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 27 July 2026