misdirection

[ mis-di-rek-shuhn ]

noun

1. a wrong or incorrect direction, guidance, or instruction:

   Unfortunately, his advice on the matter was a misdirection acted upon by numerous state leaders.

2. the use of misleading appearances or distraction to prevent detection of one’s true intent, as in a sports play, magic trick, plot twist, or wrongdoing; feint:

   The film begins with a masterful bit of misdirection, which sets up our expectations only to have them upended by a surprising twist.

   The media’s unveiling of a scandal at this precise moment is clearly misdirection, which serves both them and the White House well.

3. Law. an erroneous charge to the jury by a judge.

Word History and Origins

Origin of misdirection¹

First recorded in 1760–70; mis- ¹ + direction

Example Sentences

A biography he submitted in 1920 to a Who’s Who–type publication was an extraordinary salad of hyperbole, misdirection, and lies.

From Time

It ignores, or maybe is a misdirection from, the real brilliance of Munger and his partner Warren Buffet, designing metrics that shape positive incentives.

From Digiday

It was the first of her many staggering escapes and misdirections.

From Ozy

But under what moral principle must a nation mimic both the madness and the misdirection of its enemy?

From The Daily Beast

The constant disinformation, distraction, misdirection, confabulation, and endless stream of threats actually works.

From The Daily Beast

Is this a Benghazi misdirection from those masters of deception in the White House, a latter day Whitewater?

From The Daily Beast

This misdirection is also likely what led CNN and Fox News to mistakenly report that the mandate had been struck down.

From The Daily Beast

In that regard, Eisner proved confounding, with his comments reading more like misdirection than tea leaves.

From The Daily Beast

It affected him as a part of the general misdirection of affection and effort in the world.

From Project Gutenberg

The plea was misdirection and want of time, so that, in itself, the matter was one of secondary importance.

From Project Gutenberg

This fatal result of an enthusiasm for classical literature was hastened and heightened by the misdirection of the powers of art.

From Project Gutenberg

The mistake arose from a misdirection in two notes which the admiral had written on the same subject.

From Project Gutenberg

Trousseau says that it is produced by a misdirection of the natural pigments of the body, resulting from age, climate, or disease.

From Project Gutenberg