Félrevezetni

Félrevezetni is a Hungarian verb meaning to lead someone to believe something false or to cause someone to act on incorrect information. It can refer to deliberate deception or to presenting information in a misleading way. The action is transitive and typically takes a person or group as the direct object and a matter as the content: félrevezetni valakit valamivel, vagy félrevezetni valakit úgy, hogy téves következtetésre jusson.

Etymology: The verb is formed from the prefix félre-, meaning “wrongly” or “mis-,” combined with vezetni, “to lead.” The prefix signals deviation, error, or deception, and is used with many verbs to indicate misdirection.

Related forms: Félrevezető is the adjective meaning misleading; félrevezetés is the noun for misdirection or deception. The verb megvezetni offers a close but slightly stronger sense of deliberate manipulation.

Usage: The term is common in journalism, politics, and everyday speech for describing falsehoods, propaganda, or careless misrepresentation. It often carries a moral judgment about the actor’s intent, though it can describe outcomes of unreliable information even if the intention is not certain.

Examples: A sajtó félrevezette a közönséget az adatokkal. (The press misled the audience with the data.) Ő félrevezette a kollégáit a projekt állapotát illetően. (He misled his colleagues about the project status.) These examples illustrate the transitive use and the object of misdirection.