Phrase guide

garden path sentence

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɡɑːdən pɑːθ ˈsɛntəns/
  • General-American: /ˈɡɑːɹdən pæθ ˈsɛntəns/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A sentence that is easily parsed incorrectly when first read, due to the ambiguity of a word or words.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the idiom lead someone up (or down) the garden path, because readers form an interpretation of the sentence which remains plausible until near the end of the sentence, at which point the readers realize that their interpretation cannot be right (they have been led up a garden path) and they must try another interpretation.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: intuinzin — a sentence that is easily parsed incorrectly when first read, due to ambiguity of a word or words
  • Hungarian: becsali mondat — a sentence that is easily parsed incorrectly when first read, due to ambiguity of a word or words
  • Spanish: oración ambigua / capciosa — a sentence that is easily parsed incorrectly when first read, due to ambiguity of a word or words