What does misadvise mean?
Misadvise means to give someone advice that is wrong, misleading, or contrary to their real interests. The word is used especially in formal, legal, and historical writing, often where a decision has proved disastrous because the advice received was faulty. For example, a company may be described as having been misadvised about taxation, while an individual may say that a solicitor misadvised them about a contract. Although the word closely resembles advise, it reverses the quality of the guidance: advising is simply offering counsel, whereas misadvising is offering counsel that misleads. The term is relatively uncommon in casual speech, where bad advice, misleading advice, or advice that led someone astray would normally be used instead. It is nevertheless useful when the failure or unsuitability of advice is central to the story or legal issue.
verbTo give someone bad or misguided advice. It can also mean to advise someone to do something harmful or wrongly judged to be in their interests.
- To give someone bad or misguided advice, especially advice that leads to an undesirable or mistaken decision.
"Her friends misadvised her to leave the stable job and pursue an uncertain career."
"The lawyer admitted that his earlier counsel had misadvised the couple."
"A misleading report misadvised investors about the company's financial condition."
To misadvise is to send someone confidently in the wrong direction.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does misadvise come from?
Misadvise was formed in English by combining the negative prefix mis- with advise. Advise comes through Middle English from Old French aviser, ultimately from Latin advisare, a verb meaning “to advise” or “counsel,” derived from ad- and visere, “to see.” The same Latin foundation also underlies related English words such as adviser, advisory, and advisable.
Related word forms
How misadvise is actually used
This is a formal and relatively uncommon word, occurring more often in legal, literary, and historical contexts than in everyday conversation. It usually describes advice that was erroneous or badly judged, although the error may not have been known to the person giving the advice at the time.
Easily confused with misadvise
Advise means to offer advice or guidance, whereas misadvise means to give advice that is wrong, misleading, or harmful.