red herringnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌred ˈher.ɪŋ/us/ˌred ˈher.ɪŋ/a fact, idea, or subject that takes people's attention away from the central point being considered:
The police investigated many clues, but they were all red herrings.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Irrelevant
- a fifth/third wheel idiom
- be neither here nor there idiom
- be no object idiom
- beside
- enter into sth
- immaterial
- irrelevance
- irrelevant
- make no odds idiom
- moot
- neither
- nothing
- object
- odds
- picture
- prejudice
- tangential
- unconnected
- unrelated
- wheel
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Confusion, confusing and feeling confused