misguide

verb

"misguide" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“misguide” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To guide poorly or incorrectly; to lead astray or into error.

Key facts for misguide
PropertyValue
Headwordmisguide
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “misguide” sits in English frequency

misguide falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for misguide is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To guide poorly or incorrectly; to lead astray or into error.".

Zero misspellings are on record for misguide in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mis- + guide. The correct English form is misguide, spelled M-I-S-G-U-I-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To guide poorly or incorrectly; to lead astray or into error.

Etymology

From mis- + guide.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "misguide"?
"misguide" is spelled M-I-S-G-U-I-D-E.
What does "misguide" mean?
As a verb, "misguide" means: To guide poorly or incorrectly; to lead astray or into error.
What is the origin of the word "misguide"?
From mis- + guide. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “misguide”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-I-S-G-U-I-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list