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

Misleading updates The suit details several allegations of investors’ being given updates that ended up being misleading or false. — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 14 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

Navigating the benefits and risks General-purpose chatbots can generate inaccurate or misleading advice that is presented with high confidence. — Megan Kelly, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026

Nowhere is the weariness of the consumer more visible, or more misleading, than in the mood itself. — Nigel Morris, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Hence both interpretations were dangerously misleading, because both left it to non-Jews to define Jewish history. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

In those entries, Fauci discussed his views on the origins of the coronavirus — a topic Paul has accused Fauci of issuing misleading statements on, which Fauci has long denied. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

The myth that only older men get it Prostate cancer becomes more common with age, but calling it a disease of the elderly is misleading. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Aug. 2026

Dermatologists say the comparison is a little misleading in the first place. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 10 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