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despistar

to mislead

verb des-pees-TAHR Rare

Also means

to throw off the scent

Usage Note

Despistar is built on pista (track, trail) and means to throw someone off the track. It covers both deliberately misleading someone and accidentally confusing them: me despistó con tanta información (he confused me with so much information). The reflexive despistarse means to get distracted or lose one's bearings.

Examples

"El sospechoso intentó despistar a la policía."

Natural Translation

The suspect tried to throw the police off the scent.

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