misdirect
Send astray deliberately
Misdirect means to direct wrongly or inappropriately.
You can misdirect a letter by addressing it incorrectly, misdirect resources by allocating them poorly, or misdirect attention by drawing it away from what matters.
Magicians misdirect audiences to conceal their methods: While his left hand misdirected, his right palmed the coin.
The word implies intent more often than accident.
Cause to change course
- deflectTurn from course
- sidetrackDivert from purpose
- detourAlternate path around obstruction
- rerouteSend a different way
lead astray · wrong way · misroute · misguide · waylay · decoy · draw away · distract
Cause mental confusion
- confuseCause mental disorientation
- bewilderCause utter confusion
- perplexCause utter confusion
- baffleConfuse or perplex
muddle · obfuscate · befuddle · flummox · discombobulate · puzzle · confound · distract
Cause false belief
- deceiveCause false belief
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- lieDeliberate falsehood
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
disinformation · misinform · dissemble · duplicity · dishonesty · fabricate · prevaricate · fib
Dexterous trickery
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
- conjuringPerforming magical illusions
- magicianPerformer of illusions
illusionist · trick · feint · distraction · vanish · card trick · audience · showmanship
divert
Cause to change course
reroute · lead astray · wrong way · misroute · misguide · waylay · decoy · draw away · distract · avert
disorient
Cause mental confusion
baffle · muddle · obfuscate · befuddle · flummox · discombobulate · puzzle · confound · distract · throw off
mislead
Cause false belief
falsehood · disinformation · misinform · dissemble · duplicity · dishonesty · fabricate · prevaricate · fib · untruth
sleight
Dexterous trickery
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
- conjuringPerforming magical illusions
magician · illusionist · trick · feint · distraction · vanish · card trick · audience · showmanship · performance
blocking
Impeding forward progress
rehearsal · scene · entrance · exit · movement · choreography · prompt · performance · stage · mark
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- plot twistsplot twist, twist ending, surprise ending, unexpected turn, final reveal
- concealmentconceal, hiding, concealing, concealed, hide
- mistakesmistake, mistakes, slip, error, errors
- stunstun, daze, shock, stupefy, stagger
- digressionsdigression, tangent, aside, sidetrack, detour
misdirectdirect
Undeviating or to guide
guide · set straight · lead · point the way · steer
- misdirected mailCorrespondence sent somewhere wrong
misdirected, misdirection, misdirecting, misdirects, misdirections