astray
Americanadverb
-
out of the right way; off the correct or known road, path, or route.
Despite specific instructions, they went astray and got lost.
-
away from that which is right; into error, confusion, or undesirable action or thought.
They were led astray by their lust for money.
adjective
-
out of the correct path or direction
-
out of the right, good, or expected way; into error
Etymology
Origin of astray
1250–1300; Middle English astraye < Anglo-French *astraié, Old French estraié, past participle of estraier; stray
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
True, they can be “led astray,” but their mistakes will be limited and can be corrected through information that can “penetrate the whole mass of the people.”
If the digging phase is where ideas are found, it is also where many people go astray.
He left 15 years ago and has spent much of the time since cataloging how he thought the institution was going astray.
Then again, those New Year’s Eve revelers may have had their powers of basic detection and deductive reasoning sharpened by being led astray by AI slop.
From Salon
They likely are wasting their time: the data these early birds obtain don’t provide an advantage — and may actually lead them astray.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
