misleading
UK: ˌmɪsˈliːdɪŋ | US: ˌmɪsˈliːdɪŋ
adj. giving the wrong idea or impression; deceptive
v. (present participle of "mislead") causing someone to believe something untrue
The word "misleading" combines the prefix "mis-" (Old English "mis-," meaning "wrong" or "badly") with the verb "lead" (Old English "lǣdan," meaning "to guide"). The suffix "-ing" forms the present participle or adjective. Historically, "mislead" emerged in Middle English as "misleden," literally "to guide wrongly," reflecting the idea of directing someone toward error. Over time, "misleading" evolved to describe actions or information that deceives or creates false impressions.
The advertisement was criticized for being misleading.
His vague answers were deliberately misleading.
The graph’s skewed axis gave a misleading representation of the data.
She realized the instructions were misleading after starting the project.
Politicians often use misleading statistics to support their arguments.