mislead
/mɪsˈliːd/verb, noun
mislead is spelled M-I-S-L-E-A-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, mislead means “To lead astray, in a false direction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mislead?
| Letters | 7: M-I-S-L-E-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mislead?
Mislead appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th 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).
How do you pronounce mislead?
- /mɪsˈliːd/
Mislead has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mislead.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with mislead?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as mislead.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: misdeal.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mislead
- misleads present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- misleading participle, present
- misled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mislead mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To lead astray, in a false direction.
- 2
To deceive by telling lies or otherwise giving a false impression.
- 3
To deceptively trick into something wrong.
The preacher elaborated Satan's ways to mislead us into sin
- 4
To accidentally or intentionally confuse.
noun
- 1
A wrong or bad lead; a leading in the wrong direction.
- 2
That which is deceptive or untruthful (e.g. a falsehood, deception, untruth, or ruse).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mislead in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | égarer , mésinformer , induire en erreur |
| German | in die Irre führen, irreführen , täuschen |
| Portuguese | desencaminhar , enganar |
| Spanish | desencaminar, despistar, descaminar, descarriar , propiciar equivocarse, inducir a error |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mislead come from?
From Middle English mysleden, from Old English mislǣdan (“to mislead”), from Proto-Germanic *missalaidijaną (“to mislead”). By surface analysis, mis- + lead.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).