misdirected

adjective

as in misguided

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of misdirected The primary barrier has been the cumulative friction of subpar user experiences, misdirected marketing and an obsession with speculative trading over personal finance. — Jeff Mahony, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026 What’s being exploited and misdirected is men’s search for belonging and for economic security. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 The evidence will show that this was a misdirected voicemail resulting from a scam call, not a deliberate communication directed at Sheriff Kamara. — Joe Holden, CBS News, 28 July 2026 Reducing misdirected street lighting for example can really help, especially in areas with species that need low light for navigation. — Mack Baysinger follow, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026 The turban’s high visibility leaves Sikh men uniquely vulnerable to misdirected Islamophobic attacks, according to the American Bar Association. — Susie Neilson, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Mar. 2026 The novelist Naomi Alderman recently wrote about how the thing that keeps drawing us back to our phones is actually a misdirected desire to learn. — Richard Godwin, Travel + Leisure, 5 Feb. 2026 Everyone in the book suffers from unreturned or misdirected love. — Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 Even with smart investing, without the right systems in place to transfer this wealth, wealth that took generations to build can be lost, misdirected, or fumbled entirely. — Essence, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misdirected
  1. misguided
  2. ineffective
  3. careless
  4. ill-advised
Adjective
  • The backlash is an understandable, if misguided, response to a number of concerning cases of police abuse.
    — Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Within this literature, no decade is more doom-laden than the nineteen-thirties, when misguided hope and willful blindness led the world’s democracies to grossly underestimate the threat of Fascism.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of misguided
Adjective
  • What readers are saying The comments overwhelmingly criticize the death penalty, describing it as barbaric, cruel, and ineffective.
    — Mark Berman, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • These components ensure the right data reaches the model at the right time with the right context, eliminating delays, fragmentation and blind spots that make even strong models ineffective.
    — Harsh Verma, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of ineffective
Adjective
  • She was involved in a bankruptcy case in 2013, arrested on suspicion of careless driving in 2021, and arrested in 2023 on suspicion of domestic violence and battery.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Digger follows greedy, careless Digger as his company inadvertently catalyzes a disaster with global repercussions—then, whoopsie, sets off another for good measure.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of careless
Adjective
  • Mejia said the city had been ill-advised to agree to be the financial backstop, should the Games lose money.
    — James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Miss Manners does not consider this rude so much as ill-advised.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of ill-advised

Browse Nearby Words

misdiagnosing
misdirected
misdirection
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misdirected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misdirected. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All