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

The lawsuit claims several pieces of the ballot summary are misleading. —Gray Rohrer, Miami Herald, 12 June 2026

But even if the court finds the ballot summary is misleading, that wouldn't erase the measure from the ballot. —Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 11 June 2026

But even if the court finds the ballot summary is misleading, that wouldn’t erase the measure from the ballot. —Gray Rohrer, Sun Sentinel, 11 June 2026

Simply put, comparing NBA playoff ratings in 2026 to previous seasons without acknowledging those changes is misleading. —Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026

But early success can be misleading. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 June 2026

That comparison is misleading because California already has plants operating at several times that cost. —Sara Sutherland, Oc Register, 8 June 2026

In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the beverage giant with making misleading statements over the recyclability of its pods. —Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 8 June 2026

Manny Salazar, the Police Department’s public information officer and former drone team member, said the 46-drone figure is misleading. —Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026

Verb

Two months after the festival collapsed, McFarland was charged with federal wire fraud for misleading investors about Fyre Festival’s finances. —Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026

So British officials spread the story that their pilots were eating large amounts of carrots to explain their sharp night vision, misleading the enemy into thinking diet, not technology, was behind the success. —Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 15 June 2026

Others behave like misleading traffic signs, sending confusing instructions. —Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026

Chinese regulators accused leading e-commerce platforms of misleading marketing tactics ahead of 618, the country’s second-largest annual shopping bonanza. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 11 June 2026

According to prosecutors, the couple used weekly livestream broadcasts to promote their operation, pitching false promises to thousands of viewers nationwide and drawing in victims with misleading claims designed to build trust and drive recruitment. —Doug Myers, CBS News, 11 June 2026

The six months Tran received for pleading guilty to larceny of a firearm, misleading law enforcement in a criminal investigation, and filing an application for a license to carry containing false information were served concurrently with the federal charges. —Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026

Last month, Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian found that the ads violated California’s false advertising law by disseminating public statements about the disposal of property — specifically vehicle donations — that were misleading by omission. —Francie Ebert, NBC news, 6 June 2026

Republicans raise ballot fairness concerns The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has also raised concerns, sending a letter to Alaska election officials arguing that similar names could violate state rules against confusing or misleading ballot designations. —Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 4 June 2026