Some persistent expressions become so familiar to people that their meaning is difficult to explain the first time. These include the phrase “mislead”. Try to explain what exactly the person who pronounced it wants to say. Surely the only synonym that came to mind would be the word "deception." And how else can this expression be explained? Let's get it right.
Let's dig into the dictionaries
Scientific minds believe that any research should begin with a study of the literature. Although our work is not similar in essence and content to the methodological one, however, we will also turn to special publications. The dictionaries do not explain in great detail what it means to “mislead”. Well-known publications offer to see the word "deception". That is, they consider it identical with the phraseological unit under study. To deceive, in turn, means that a person transmits (distributes) untruthful information. This is done intentionally, consciously. Misleading is not quite the same thing. Phraseologism consists of two words. The first means action. Enter - to convey some information, knowledge. This action is often directed at another person. However, people themselves may be mistaken, as we will discuss further. Here we note that phraseologism contains a description of intentional action.
What does “fallacy” mean?
Probably the best way to cite an analogy. The word itself gives rise to the image of a forest in the head, along which an unfortunate person wanders and cannot find a way out. He is confused and upset, which is also important. Indeed, phraseologism has a clear emotional connotation. Delusion is a belief in false information, taking it for truth. It occurs under the influence of certain external or internal factors. This term means deception, the inability to understand real events under the influence of certain information or feelings. For example, if in an advertisement they talk about non-existent merits of a product, then a person is misled. This is a deliberate action, by the way, a jury. Or take a woman who dreams of mutual love. She considers a casual look or a compliment of the gentleman signs of attention. It deceives itself, misleading. That is, the expression is clearly connected with the emotions of the object of influence. This is not just a lie, but a deliberate deception that affects the emotional sphere of a person.
As used in the literature, the phrase “mislead”
A sentence with this phraseological unit can often be found in the literature. He is bright, imaginative, therefore he conveys feelings well. For example, Edmund Burke said that you can renounce freedom only by falling into error. This proposal describes the whole depth of self-deception of a person who voluntarily falls under the influence of another person, giving him the most valuable possesses. And Claude Helvetius said a phrase that has not lost its relevance so far. He said that passions deceive us, because they force us to focus on only one aspect of the issue under study. And this, in turn, prevents one from exploring it completely (free retelling). Each of the thinkers drew the attention of listeners to the emotional involvement of the object of influence. That is, to “mislead” is a phraseology that describes a sophisticated effect on a person, aimed at achieving a conceived, very specific effect. This is a pre-prepared and calculated lie.
Choose synonyms
Let's try to find an expression or word that as accurately as possible reflects the essence of the studied phraseological unit.What dictionaries offer us only roughly describes the effect. Deception can be different, including unintentional. It’s a completely different matter to “mislead”. The synonym for the phrase should be the closest in meaning. This is a specially prepared, deliberate and intentional deception. In Russian, there is another, similar in meaning to the expression: "confuse." It also denotes a targeted effect on the personality, the essence of which is to change the person’s opinion. That is the same intentional deception that we discussed above. Therefore, the expression "confusing" can be called a synonym for the studied phraseological unit. Both expressions mean almost the same thing.
Other synonyms:
- hang noodles on the ears;
- fool your head;
- talking teeth;
- drive by nose.
Use in jurisprudence
The studied phraseological unit is quite widely used in judicial practice. To mislead means to give false testimony. As described in legislative acts, there are three cases of such acts:
- intentional;
- by negligence;
- unintentional.
The first is the malicious use of false information. The second is a random remark that allows the other side to incorrectly evaluate the opponent’s intentions. The third means the provision of false information, which the person himself considers correct, justified. That is, he himself believes that he is telling the truth. However, value judgments are not considered misleading. The court considers in this plan only a statement of facts that lead to an incorrect interpretation of events or intentions. The party is charged with deliberately distorting the information in order to influence the opponent and make him make a mistake. As you see, jurisprudence also takes into account the influence of information on the emotional sphere of a person, the manipulation of his opinion. The only exception is the situation when the offender himself was the victim of delusion.
Conclusion
We give one more aphorism with our phraseological unit. Goethe said: "Truth belongs to man, error to his era." This expression reveals the subject more deeply. In fact, delusion can turn out to be self-deception of a large group of people. This is the result of a collective striving for an ephemeral goal, not justified by historical development, far from the true good of people. This is how the world works, we are influenced as individuals and as subjects of society. And it depends only on us whether we can overcome the imposed ideas or go the wrong way. As a rule, whether the collective (or humanity) is mistaken, contemporaries are not able to evaluate. This will be seen by future generations. And our share is to overcome the consequences of the errors of our ancestors.
