To give a wrong direction to; as, to misdirect a passenger, or a letter; to misdirect one's energies
If you misdirect someone, you send them in the wrong direction. He had deliberately misdirected the reporters
corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals"
If resources or efforts are misdirected, they are used in the wrong way or for the wrong purposes. Many of the aid projects in the developing world have been misdirected in the past. + misdirected mis·di·rect·ed a misdirected effort to mollify the bishop