misleadingmis‧lead‧ing /mɪsˈliːdɪŋ/ ●●○ adjective 
The article was misleading, and the newspaper has apologized.seriously/highly/grossly etc misleading These figures are highly misleading.► see thesaurus at wrong—misleadingly adverb: The diagrams are misleadingly simple.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- misleading statistics
- Agents often gave a false or misleading description of the houses they were selling.
- In court Robbins made misleading statements about his involvement.
- It would be misleading to say that the recession will soon be over.
- The advertisements were deliberately misleading and false.
- The Advertising Review Board says the adverts are deliberately misleading.
- The article was deliberately misleading, and the newspaper has apologized.
- The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.
- These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
- Your diagram is a little misleading, Watson.
- Editor's Note: The report was misleading in suggesting Mr Bacon's remarks were made at the inquiry.
- He brought undue pressure to bear on his parents by giving them an entirely misleading account of the documents.
- The distinction, however, is misleading.
- The most misleading figures are those on unemployment.
- Whilst we stress the artificial nature of most time-cues, it would be misleading to suggest that natural light is without effect.
THESAURUS
not correct or right – used about facts, answers etc, or people: · For every wrong answer, you lose five points.· The figure he gave me was wrong.· I think you’re wrong about that.
something that is incorrect is wrong because someone has made a mistake. Incorrect is more formal than wrong: · I’m afraid these prices are incorrect.· The doctor had made an incorrect diagnosis.
something that is inaccurate is not exactly right and contains mistakes: · inaccurate information· inaccurate measurements· The old maps were often inaccurate.
not based on true facts: · Are the following statements true or false?· He was accused of giving false information to the police.
[not usually before noun] not based on true facts, especially because someone is lying or guessing: · I can’t believe he said that about me. It’s completely untrue!· The allegations were untrue.
a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is wrong, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The article was very misleading.· misleading statistics
a misguided decision, belief, action etc is wrong because it is based on bad judgment or understanding: · That decision seems misguided now.· It was the consequence of a misguided economic policy.
wrong – used about ideas and beliefs. Also used about a person being wrong. You’re mistaken sounds more polite and less direct than saying you’re wrong: · She’s completely mistaken if she thinks that I don’t care about her.· a mistaken belief
[not usually before noun] not true, because the person does not know the facts, or because they are lying: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.· The allegations are completely untrue.
not true and not based on the facts, or not the real one: · The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· He gave a false name and address to the police.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.
if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case, it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think there’s an endless supply of fish, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
trumped-up charges, accusations, evidence etc use information that is not true in order to make someone seem guilty of doing something wrong: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.
Longman Language Activatorintended to deceive words or actions that are deceitful are intended to deceive someone: · He got the contract, but only by being deceitful.· I don't trust her. I think she has a deceitful smile.· The company has engaged in deceitful practices for years.
misleading information or statements make people believe something that is not true, especially by not giving them all the facts: · The advertisements were deliberately misleading and false.· In court Robbins made misleading statements about his involvement.it is misleading to say/treat/speak of etc: · It would be misleading to say that the recession will soon be over.
British /under false pretenses American if you do something under false pretences , you do it by pretending that the situation is different from what it really is: · He got a loan from the bank under false pretences.· Immigration officers attempt to catch people entering the country under false pretenses.
when what someone says is not true: it's/that's not true · "No one ever helps me." "That's not true."· You're believing what Mike's saying and it's just not true, he doesn't have a clue what's happening.it is not true that · It is not true that all women want to go out to work.
not true. Untrue is more formal than not true: · The report has proven this information to be untrue.it is untrue that: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.completely/totally/absolutely/simply untrue: · The interviewer made it sound like I thought it was okay to hit a woman, which is totally untrue.
not true or not correct: · He gave a false name and address to the police.· The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.· Her claims of being able to recall past lives were later proved false.
if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case , it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think if kids are aware of a particular brand or ad campaign, they'll buy the product, but that's not the case.
if there is no truth in or to something that has been said or written, it is completely untrue: · There is no truth in the rumour that Collins and his wife are about to divorce.· Robinson says there is no truth to the reports that he is ready to resign.
misleading information or statements make people believe something that is not true, especially by not giving them all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
if an explanation, story etc does not ring true , it does not seem to be true even though you are not quite sure why you think it is untrue: · There was something odd about her story, something that didn't ring true.· One of the jurors said that Hill's explanation just didn't ring true.
: trumped-up charge/accusation/case etc something someone says, a legal case etc that is false and has been invented, especially in order to harm someone else for political purposes: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.
information/numbers/calculations etc not correct: · For every answer that is wrong, you lose five points.· I think that clock must be wrong (=showing the wrong time).get something wrong: · You must have got my email address wrong.wrong (telephone) number/address/name etc: · I tried to phone him, but it was the wrong number.· This must be the wrong address -- no one of that name lives here
facts, figures, answers etc that are incorrect are wrong because they are not the same as the correct ones: · The information about current prices was incorrect.· incorrect spelling· They discovered later that the doctor had made an incorrect diagnosis.it is incorrect to do/say something: · It's simply incorrect to say that tobacco advertising does not influence young people.
a statement or piece of information that is misleading makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The article was deliberately misleading, and the newspaper has apologized.· misleading statistics· The Advertising Review Board says the adverts are deliberately misleading.give a misleading impression/statement etc: · Agents often gave a false or misleading description of the houses they were selling.
information, numbers etc that are inaccurate are not exactly right or contain some mistakes: · The old maps were usually inaccurate or incomplete.· TV ratings figures are often inaccurate.· He admitted he had given the committee 'inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable information'. totally/wildly inaccurate (=very inaccurate): · Figures quoted in the article are wildly inaccurate.
: bad grammar/English/Italian etc not spoken or written correctly: · You will lose marks for bad grammar in the exam.· Robert ordered two beers in very bad Spanish.· Masanori is the worst student in the class -- his spelling's bad and his grammar's terrible.
British /be off American if a measurement, result, figure etc is out , it is wrong because the numbers have not been calculated correctly: · These sales figures must be out. We certainly haven't made that much money this year.be out by $10/50 centimetres etc: · My last bank statement was off by $60.
if someone's guess, opinion etc is way off the mark , their idea about a situation is completely wrong: · No, you're way off the mark -- he was born in 1736.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY These figures are highly misleading.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
likely to make someone believe something that is not true: These figures are highly misleading.· The advertisement gave a misleading impression of the product.
(=one that is not accurate)· The media coverage left many people with a distorted picture.· These figures give a misleading picture of the company’s financial health.
(=likely to make you believe something that is not true)· This isn’t the first time the industry has published misleading reports based on incomplete data.
(=one that is not true)· She is accused of making false statements to obtain a passport.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Travel companies have strongly denied that they are deliberately misleading customers.· Police say a warning was deliberately misleading.· I got howls of protest from readers who thought that I was deliberately misleading them.
· It is nevertheless a false equation, and at times a seriously misleading one.· This may, however, be seriously misleading.· To present Methodism as essentially an urban phenomenon is seriously misleading.
· Such dichotomous standpoints are, however, somewhat misleading since both groups are involved in policy formulation.· But the appearance of modesty was somewhat misleading.· A particular, and somewhat misleading, borrowing by the Chicago School from the natural world consisted of analogies with plant life.· The name Sheep Street is somewhat misleading.
· It is sometimes called the Coriolis force, but this is very misleading.· But this is only part of the story and can be very misleading.· Conclusions drawn from applying statistical techniques to incomplete data may be very misleading.· The appearance from the surface can be very misleading.· But such distinctions can be very misleading indeed.· It is quite impossible, and very misleading to suggest, that pruning can be done according to the calendar.
NOUN· Nor did these developments give a misleading impression of Soviet influence on world affairs.· Some authorities give the misleading impression that they alone have the absolute right to deliver certain services to the public.· Alpha has a fainter star beside it, giving the misleading impression of a very wide double.· Highlighting these few bureaux may give the misleading impression that they are out of line with the mainstream.· The repertoire on the Erato set, consisting mostly of familiar Mravinsky favourites, may also give a misleading impression.· A misleading impression may be unintended.
· Purchasers seeking clearance and other parties submitting information to the regulatory authorities face prosecution if they supply false or misleading information.· Mr Irons and Sheriff Nicholson believe the court's decision was based on misleading information.· He soon learns either to give you misleading information or delay sending in the document.· This I believe stems largely from scaremongering and misleading information given to the industry from various sources.
· Thirdly, and most significantly, the Act creates two offences relating to misdescriptions of goods, and misleading statements about services.· A medical tribunal upheld four complaints laid by local health authorities against William McBride, 65, for false and misleading statements.· Wickham had remarked that covert freelance writing for another publication did not justify making a misleading statement during a murder inquiry.· These advertisements contained a number of false and misleading statements.
The article was misleading, and the newspaper has apologized.seriously/highly/grossly etc misleading These figures are highly misleading.► see thesaurus at wrong—misleadingly adverb: The diagrams are misleadingly simple.