These words suggest putting something in a place Where it should not or ought not to be. To displace is to shift something (usually solid) more or less permanently from its accustomed place: "The flood displaced every structure in that section of town." To misplace is to put an object in a wrong place so that it is difficult to find: "She could no longer sew, for she had misplaced her scissors." A person who has been compelled to leave his home or country is displaced; a worker in a position for which he is unsuited is misplaced.
Dictionary of problem words and expressions. Harry Shaw. 1975.