mislead

Etymology

From Middle English misleden, from Old English mislǣdan (“to mislead”), from Proto-Germanic *missalaidijaną (“to mislead”), equivalent to mis- + lead.

verb

1. (literally) To lead astray, in a false direction.
   City of the dead / At the end of another lost highway / Signs misleading to nowhere 2004, Green Day (lyrics and music), “Jesus of Suburbia”, in American Idiot
2. To deceive by telling lies or otherwise giving a false impression.
3. To deceptively trick into something wrong.
   The preacher elaborated Satan's ways to mislead us into sin
4. To accidentally or intentionally confuse.

noun

1. A wrong or bad lead; a leading in the wrong direction.
   If all the misleads (incorrect alternatives) are illogical, absurd, or in any way unattractive as possible answers, the student has no difficulty in choosing the correct answer. 1951, Improvement of Grading Practices for the Air Training, page 31
2. (countable) That which is deceptive or untruthful (e.g. a falsehood, deception, untruth, or ruse).
   The skinny body, a mislead to make people think that he was captured by someone and tortured. Even the loud gunshot was a mislead to make them ask questions to common citizens. His long untidy hair, also a mislead. 2021, Aren Bjorgman, Frozen Ashes