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
Health leaders must move quickly to oppose these deeply misguided changes. — Julie Morita, Time, 25 Oct. 2026 Civello also observed that Denton has the opinion that the decisions made years ago to expand the brand down-market with more price points below $100 appear misguided, and that Nike now is looking at rolling some of that back. — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026 The White House has consistently derided Bonta’s litigation against the administration as baseless and misguided. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Thus, treating the first movie’s haul as the new standard for future chapters was misguided, particularly when sequels have historically earned less than their predecessors. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 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 27 Oct. 2026.

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