misdirection C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition US /ˌmɪsdəˈrɛkʃən/ UK /ˌmɪsdɪˈrɛkʃən/ See IPA manual 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... deceptiondiversionmisguidancefeintdistraction ↔ Opposites guidancedirection Word family Related forms misdirectdirectiondirectdirector Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown