Mislead
verb
third person singular: misleads | past tense: misled | past participle: misled | present participle: misleading
Definition
1. Cause someone to believe something that is not true.
2. Give a wrong idea or impression.
2. Give a wrong idea or impression.
Context Alive
The salesman smiled warmly and made big promises about the car’s condition. But he had completely misled the buyer about its history. It broke down just three days after the purchase, and the repair bill was enormous.
Meanings
1 meaning
1
Cause Someone to Believe Something Untrue (Verb)
Very Common
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This meaning is about making someone form a wrong belief or impression. Imagine a friend telling you a restaurant is amazing, so you go there and the food is terrible — your friend misled you, even if they didn’t mean to. This is misleading someone — giving them a false picture. You might say “the company misled customers about the product” or someone could warn “don’t be misled by his friendly attitude.” Or picture a politician who misleads voters by making promises he knows he can’t keep. The word carries a sense of broken trust. ✏️ The past tense is “misled” (not “misleaded”) — this is a very common spelling mistake, even for native speakers.
Vivid ExampleThe travel agency promised a luxury experience at a bargain price. But when the family arrived, the hotel was nothing like the brochure. They felt completely misled and spent the first day of their holiday searching for somewhere else to stay.
Examples from the Street
“The advert completely misled me — the product looks nothing like the picture.”
The advertisement totally gave me a false impression — the item is completely different from what was shown
“Don’t mislead people into thinking this will be easy — it won’t.”
Don’t give people a false idea that this is going to be simple — it definitely isn’t
“I feel like I was deliberately misled — nobody told me about the extra charges.”
I believe I was intentionally given false information — no one mentioned the additional fees
Common Patterns
mislead someone → cause someone to believe something that isn’t true
mislead someone into (verb+ing/believing/thinking) → cause someone to wrongly believe or do something
be misled (by someone/something) → be given a false impression
deliberately/intentionally mislead → deceive on purpose
mislead the public/consumers/voters → give false information to a large group
mislead parliament/the court/Congress → give false or incomplete information to an official body
accused of misleading → formally charged with giving false information
misleading (information/advertising/claims/statistics) → (adjective form) content that creates a false impression
potentially/grossly misleading → possibly or extremely deceptive
don’t let something mislead you → warning not to be fooled by appearances
the title/name can mislead → the label gives a wrong idea of what something really is
easily misled → quick to believe false information; gullible
Collocations
3 collocationsdeliberately mislead
intentionally give false information
mislead the public
give people wrong information
mislead someone into believing
trick a person into thinking something false
Example Sentences
12 examples
1
The salesman misled us about the condition of the car — he said it was in perfect shape, but the engine broke down within a week
The dealer gave us a completely false picture of the vehicle’s state — he claimed it was flawless, but the motor failed in less than seven days.
2
The packaging misled consumers into thinking the product was organic when it actually contained artificial ingredients
The wrapping gave buyers the false impression that the item was naturally produced when it really included man-made components.
3
I was misled by the job description — it said “flexible hours” but the reality is twelve-hour shifts six days a week
The vacancy posting gave me a completely wrong idea — it promised adjustable scheduling but what I actually got was half-day-long working periods nearly every day.
4
The company has been accused of deliberately misleading investors about its financial health for years
The business has been charged with intentionally giving shareholders a false picture of how well it was doing financially over a long period.
5
Politicians who mislead the public should be held accountable, not rewarded with re-election
Leaders who give citizens false information should face consequences, not be voted back into office.
6
The minister was forced to resign after misleading parliament about the true cost of the project
The government official had to step down after giving the legislative body false figures about how much the programme actually cost.
7
The headline was grossly misleading — the article said something completely different from what the title suggested
The title was extremely deceptive — the actual piece conveyed a message that had nothing to do with what the heading implied.
8
Don’t let the calm weather mislead you — the forecast says a massive storm is coming tonight
Don’t be fooled by the peaceful conditions — the weather report warns that a huge tempest is expected to arrive this evening.
9
The name can mislead — “Greenland” sounds tropical, but it’s actually one of the coldest places on earth
The title gives a wrong impression — it sounds like a warm, lush destination, but in reality it’s among the iciest regions on the planet.
10
Young people are easily misled by influencers who promote products they’ve never actually used themselves
Younger audiences are quick to believe online personalities who endorse items they’ve never genuinely tried in their own lives.
Learner Examples
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Some language apps mislead learners into believing they can become fluent in thirty days, when in reality it takes years of consistent practice
Certain language platforms give students the false impression that they can achieve full proficiency in a month, when the truth is it requires years of steady, ongoing effort.
★
Don’t let a high grammar score mislead you — getting full marks on a test doesn’t mean you can hold a natural conversation
Don’t be fooled by a perfect result on a structure exam — achieving top marks on a written assessment is no guarantee that you can manage a smooth, real-life discussion.
Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
2 items
Phrasal Verbslead on — deceive with false expectations
He led her on by pretending to be interested in the deal.
Idioms & Expressionslead up the garden path — deceive someone gradually
The salesman led us up the garden path with false promises.
Synonyms & Antonyms
7 items
Synonymsdeceive
trick someone
misinform
give wrong info
fool
make someone believe falsely
trick
lead astray
Antonymsinform
give correct info
guide
lead correctly
enlighten
help understand