misdirection

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˌmɪsdəˈrɛkʃən/ UK /ˌmɪsdɪˈrɛkʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the act of directing wrongly or diverting attention to deceive

The magician relied on misdirection to hide the coin in his other hand.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of directing... deception diversionmisguidancefeint distraction

Opposites

guidance direction

Word family

Related forms misdirect direction direct director

Etymology

From mis- ('wrongly') + direction, from Latin directio, from dirigere ('to set straight'), from dis- ('apart') + regere ('to guide, rule').

mis- Old English dirigere Latin regere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

# misdirection

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌmɪsdəˈrɛkʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌmɪsdɪˈrɛkʃən

## Meanings
1. the act of directing wrongly or diverting attention to deceive

## Examples
- The magician relied on misdirection to hide the coin in his other hand.

## Synonyms
- deception
- diversion
- misguidance
- feint
- distraction

## Antonyms
- guidance
- direction

## Related Forms
- misdirect
- direction
- direct
- director

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mis-
- Root: dirigere
- Root: regere

## Etymology
From mis- ('wrongly') + direction, from Latin directio, from dirigere ('to set straight'), from dis- ('apart') + regere ('to guide, rule').

## AI Etymology
Misdirection comes from mis- ('wrongly') + direction, from Latin directio, from dirigere ('to set straight'), from dis- ('apart') + regere ('to guide, rule'). The etymological trail includes Old English mis-, Latin dirigere, Latin regere. The same word family includes misdirect, direction, direct, director. Its current noun use means "the act of directing wrongly or diverting attention to deceive".

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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misdirection

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