Misleading — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb adjective /ˌmis-ˈlēd/ mis·lead

Meaning & Definition of Misleading

Misleading (verb)

  1. to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit
  2. to lead astray, give a wrong impression

Misleading (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. tending or having power to deceive

    "the misleading text of the advertisement would like you to believe that you're getting something for nothing"

    similar: beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, specious
    related: artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, shady, shifty, slick, sly, sneaking, sneaky, subtile, subtle, trick, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded, wily, inaccurate, incorrect, wrong, bewildering, confounding, distracting, perplexing, puzzling, ambidextrous, crooked, defrauding, dishonest, dissembling, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, fast, fraudulent, knavish, lying, mendacious, untrustworthy, untruthful, bogus, counterfeit, fake, feigned, forged, jive (slang), phony, sham, spurious, insidious, perfidious, treacherous, ambiguous, circuitous, equivocal, evasive, artificial, backhanded, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, two-faced
    opposite: aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward
    near: candid, direct, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, openhearted, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight, clarifying, elucidative, explanatory, illuminating, revealing, revelatory, honest, trustworthy, truthful

Misleading (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to cause to believe what is untrue

    "the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless"

    similar: bamboozling, beguiling, bluffing, buffaloing, burning, catching, conning, cozening, deceiving, deluding, duping, faking out, fooling, gaffing, gammoning, gulling, having, having on (chiefly British), hoaxing, hoodwinking, hornswoggling, humbugging, juggling, misguiding, misinforming, snookering, snowing, spoofing, stringing along, suckering, sucking in, taking in, tricking, doing a number on, leading one down the garden path, pulling one's leg, pulling the wool over one's eyes
    related: kidding, putting on, teasing, bleeding, cheating, chiseling, defrauding, diddling, euchring, fleecing, flimflamming, hustling, mulcting, rooking, shortchanging, skinning, squeezing, sticking, stinging, swindling
    opposite: undeceiving
    near: debunking, exposing, revealing, showing up, uncloaking, uncovering, unmasking, disclosing, divulging, telling, unveiling, disabusing, disenchanting, disillusioning

Related Entry: Mislead (verb)

Mislead is a different word from Misleading. The synonyms below are for mislead, not for misleading.

  1. to cause to believe what is untrue

    "the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless"

    similar: bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on (chiefly British), hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in, trick, do a number on, lead one down the garden path, pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes
    related: kid, put on, tease, bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, fleece, flimflam, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle
    opposite: undeceive
    near: debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask, disclose, divulge, tell, unveil, disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Misleading

The most common words with a similar meaning to Misleading:

Chiefly British: having on
beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, specious, bamboozling, bluffing, buffaloing, burning, catching, conning, cozening, duping, faking out, fooling, gaffing, gammoning, gulling, having, hoaxing, hoodwinking, hornswoggling, humbugging, juggling, misguiding, misinforming, snookering, snowing, spoofing, stringing along, suckering, sucking in, taking in, tricking, doing a number on

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Misleading

Words with the opposite meaning of Misleading:

aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward, undeceiving

Related Words for Misleading

artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, shady, shifty, slick, sly, sneaking, sneaky, subtile, subtle, trick, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded, wily, inaccurate, incorrect, wrong, bewildering, confounding, distracting, perplexing, puzzling, ambidextrous, crooked

Near Antonyms of Misleading

candid, direct, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, openhearted, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight, clarifying, elucidative, explanatory, illuminating, revealing, revelatory, honest, trustworthy, truthful, debunking, exposing, showing up, uncloaking, uncovering, unmasking, disclosing, divulging, telling, unveiling

Word Forms of Misleading

Inflections: misled

Derived words: misleader (noun), misleadingly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Misleading

First known use: before 12th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Misleading

Frequently Asked Questions about Misleading

What does "Misleading" mean?

"Misleading" means to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit. As an a verb and an adjective, it is defined as: to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit. It has 2 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Misleading"?

Other words for "Misleading" include beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory and fallacious. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Misleading" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Misleading"?

There are 128 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Misleading". Common alternatives include beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false and specious.

What is the opposite of "Misleading"?

Antonyms of "Misleading" include aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward and undeceiving. Near antonyms include candid, direct, foursquare and frank.

How do you use "Misleading" in a sentence?

Examples of "Misleading" in a sentence: "the misleading text of the advertisement would like you to believe that you're getting something for nothing"; "the coral snake's attractive colors can mislead you into thinking that it is harmless".

Is "Misleading" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Misleading" can be used as a verb and an adjective, depending on the context.

Is "Misleading" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Misleading" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Misleading"?

"Misleading" is pronounced /ˌmis-ˈlēd/ and divided into syllables as mis·lead.