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

A matter of distance and brightness The stars that compose the Triangle — Vega, Altair, and Deneb — lie at very unequal distances from us, so their apparent brightness can give a misleading impression of their true luminosity. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Publishers don’t want irrelevant or misleading ads to appear on their media sources. — Roman Vrublivskyi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Omar has dismissed allegations about her finances as misleading and rooted in conspiracy theories. — Wcco Staff, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026

Swatting, which involves making a false or misleading report to law enforcement about an urgent threat or emergency, is a crime. — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2026

From the bait-and-switch to the misleading language to the high cost of living these days, there’s no reason for Santa Ana voters to approve this money-grabbing measure. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2026

While the tapestry’s amplitude surpassed the metric limit, the metric itself was misleading, and the work could travel safely with no further changes. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

But in an interview with NPR last year, Patterson said the projection can create a misleading impression when used as a general-purpose world map. — Jewel Bright, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026

The White House’s misleading stats on oil shipments from the Gulf. — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026

Verb

What’s bothered me, though, is how its backers have anchored their messaging around a lot of misleading generalizations about the state of college sports. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

At that public meeting, several parents said Adams should have been fired for misleading them and misrepresenting the condition of the Earl Warren ATP facilities. — Marsha Sutton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2026

The lawsuit accused the tech company of designing and deploying harmful features while misleading the public about them. — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

But her crimes stemmed from years of misleading claims about Theranos and its technology. — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2026

That gap means the roadmap no longer reflects reality and is misleading decisions. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Saylor Hayes' parents are accused of misleading authorities during the search. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026

The finding could help scientists distinguish genuine signs of dark matter from misleading signals. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026

But the likely fake accounts potentially set up a legal quagmire for Temu, as European law bars the use of misleading formats for advertising. — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026