misguided

1 of 2

adjective

mis·​guid·​ed (ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd How to pronounce misguided (audio)
Synonyms of misguided
: led or prompted by wrong or inappropriate motives or ideals
well-meaning but misguided do-gooders
misguidedly
(ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd-lē How to pronounce misguided (audio)
adverb
misguidedness
(ˌ)mis-ˈgī-dəd-nəs How to pronounce misguided (audio)
noun

misguided

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of misguide

Examples of misguided in a Sentence

Adjective She's been getting a lot of bad advice from misguided friends. He blames the crisis on the government's misguided economic policies. a misguided attempt to help
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
For this reason, Triola’s belief that a machine’s aggregation acumen presents chefs with an innovative tool for designing recipes strikes me as misguided. — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026 Indeed, the previous template for summer movie success — massive budget for IP that the whole world has heard of, traditional marketing and then cross your fingers — felt stale and misguided at times. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done from the start. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026 Tech titans have defended their products and largely brushed off concerns as overblown or misguided. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misguided

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1500, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misguided was in 1500

Rhymes for misguided

See All Rhymes for misguided

Browse Nearby Words

misguide
misguided
mishandle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misguided.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misguided. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for misguided

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