misdirection
noun
misdirection is spelled M-I-S-D-I-R-E-C-T-I-O-N: 12 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, misdirection means “An act of misleading, of convincing someone to concentrate in an incorrect direction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of misdirection is misdirections.
How many letters and syllables are in misdirection?
| Letters | 12: M-I-S-D-I-R-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is misdirection?
Misdirection appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of misdirection
- misdirections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misdirection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of misleading, of convincing someone to concentrate in an incorrect direction.
The magician used misdirection to get us to watch his left hand while he did something with his right hand.
- 2
Movement or tendency in the wrong direction.
- 3
UKAn error of law within a judgement committed by a judge or judges of a lower court, particularly as found by an appeals court.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does misdirection come from?
From mis- + direction.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).