astray
/əˈstreɪ
/adverb
1Away from the correct path or direction: we went astray but a man redirected us...
- The Reds were rewarded with two penalties but they were kicked astray due to poor direction.
- And then when they arrive in Kerry, their problems are compounded as they're confronted with confused and disjointed signage that could send them astray for another hour.
- Presently, they have a mature adult tortoiseshell cat who was spotted astray in Kirkbymoorside for several months before being brought into their care with a nasty skin infection around her head.
Synonyms
off target, wide of the mark, wide, awry;
off course, off track, off the right track, adrift
informal off beam
2Into error or morally questionable behaviour: he was led astray by boozy colleagues...
- I acted like a fool in allowing myself to be led astray and placed in such a horrible situation.
- All the local churches are being asked to pray against this meeting and any subsequent ones, so that folk in our town are not led astray into things that are evil.
- Hiding behind the hackneyed theme of a ruler being led astray by evil advisers, Becket could have been in no doubt that the scheme had been orchestrated by Henry.
Synonyms
into wrongdoing, into error, into sin, into iniquity, away from the straight and narrow, away from the path of righteousness
informal off the rails
Phrases
go astray
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'distant from the correct path'): from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old French estraie, past participle of estraier, based on Latin extra 'out of bounds' + vagari 'wander'.