misled

Misled is the past participle of the verb mislead. It functions as both a verb form and an adjective. As a verb, to mislead means to cause someone to have a belief or impression that is false or mistaken, often through deception, partial truth, or faulty information. As an adjective, misled describes a person who has been caused to believe something incorrect, as in "The audience was misled by the campaign."

Etymology traces to the prefix mis- meaning wrong or badly and the verb lead, from Old English lædan or lǣdan. The combined form mislead emerged in Middle English, with misled appearing as the simple past and past participle in later stages of the language.

Usage and context: In everyday language, misled can describe individuals who were deceived by inaccurate information. In law and policy, misrepresentation refers to false statements that induce reliance; consequences may include remedies such as rescission or damages. In advertising and politics, statements that are technically true but omit key facts may be described as misleading. Distinguishing between deliberate deception and unintentional misperception can be important for assessing intent and liability. The term often appears in discussions of credibility, information integrity, and ethical communication.

Related terms include deception, misrepresentation, misleading, and gullibility. Misled is commonly used in journalism, law, and ordinary discourse to indicate that a person’s beliefs were shaped by information that was not accurate.