deceive
Americanverb (used with object)
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deceives,
present (3rd person singular)
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deceived,
past participle, past
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deceiving
present participle
verb (used without object)
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deceives,
present (3rd person singular)
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deceived,
past participle, past
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deceiving
present participle
verb
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to mislead by deliberate misrepresentation or lies
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to delude (oneself)
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to be unfaithful to (one's sexual partner)
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archaic to disappoint
his hopes were deceived
Usage
What does deceive mean? Deceive means to lie, mislead, or otherwise hide or distort the truth. The act or practice of deceiving can be called deceit or deception. Lying is only one way of deceiving. Deceiving can consist of misrepresenting or omitting the truth or more complicated cover-ups. People can even deceive themselves by avoiding the truth. The adjectives deceptive and deceitful can describe something that deceives or is intended to deceive. Someone who is known for deceiving others can be described as deceitful. Someone who is easily deceived can be described as deceivable. Sometimes, the word deceive can be used in the context of things that are naturally or innocently misleading to one’s perception (without someone doing the deceiving), as in Do my eyes deceive me? The adjective deceiving can be used in this sense, as in Looks can be deceiving. Example: A lot of advertising is intended to deceive us into thinking we need something.
Synonym Usage
See cheat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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deceivabilitynoun
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deceivablenessnoun
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deceivernoun
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deceivingnoun
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interdeceiveverb
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predeceiveverb (used with object)
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redeceiveverb (used with object)
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deceivableadjective
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nondeceivingadjective
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well-deceivedadjective
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deceivablyadverb
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deceivinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deceivesimple
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deceivessimple
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have deceivedperfect
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has deceivedperfect
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am deceivingprogressive
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are deceivingprogressive
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is deceivingprogressive
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have been deceivingperfect progressive
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has been deceivingperfect progressive
Past
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deceivedsimple
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had deceivedperfect
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was deceivingprogressive
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were deceivingprogressive
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had been deceivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deceive
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English deceiven, from Old French deceivre, from Latin dēcipere, literally, “to ensnare,” equivalent to dē- de- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”
Explanation
To deceive means to trick or lie. A crafty kid might deceive his mother into thinking he has a fever by holding the thermometer to a light bulb to increase the temperature. Deceive is the trickier cousin of lie. You might lie about why you were late to school. But if you simply don't explain to your mom that you were late in the first place, you are deceiving her. Deceive carries with it a feeling of both craftiness and betrayal. When you deceive someone, forgiveness can be hard to come by. Have you heard of the spelling rule, "i before e except after c" that has so many exceptions? Well, deceive follows that rule.
Vocabulary lists containing deceive
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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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.
See Examples For:
Images were posted on Tinder, Hinge, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and SoundCloud, and used to deceive thousands of people across social media and dating apps.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
And to make it even more complicated, clever players might actually try to use the body language clues to deceive the goalie and go the opposite way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Scammers exploit the Emirati royal's likeness by drawing on his vast online presence, including his more than 17 million Instagram followers, and sometimes even copying the prince's authentic poems to deceive victims.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
“What he didn’t know — and what the FBI’s own investigation goes out of its way to clarify — is that his staff cooked up a scheme designed to deceive him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
His attitude was that of one who goes through the motions of listening in order to deceive himself as to what he already hears.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Leighton Clarkson's poor free-kick deceives everyone apart from Stefan Gartenmann.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2024
In the second complaint, the state argued that the app deceives consumers into believing their sensitive and personal information is secure.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
A “man of two minds,” he commiserates with his foes as easily as he deceives his friends.
From New York Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
"Instead it did something even cleverer — it brought together existing genes, which already do other things in different parts of the plant, to make a complicated spot on the petals that deceives male flies."
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2023
I will be the proverbial parent who deceives the child by offering medicine laced with sweet syrup.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
As it turns out, I’m hardly the only person to have felt hoodwinked, bamboozled, and/or flat-out deceived by my smartphone’s forecasts in 2026.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
The judge said that Gibson had previously tried to persuade the court that he had not deliberately deceived the victims, but he said the evidence had shown "deception was central" to his offending.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
He told officers his daughter, with whom he was travelling, was "unaware" of what had happened and said, "I have deceived everyone".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
In truth, his parents had wanted to save him from the same villagers who deceived him with the False Asa.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
We would both rise to our feet, both of us knowing I was not deceived about her offer to tea nor she in my mention of a promise to Maxim.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
The headline number is probably going to be deceiving, however.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Two days after his incident with Santana, Caballero was called for a pitch-clock violation when umpires deemed that he was attempting to circumvent the rules by deceiving the pitcher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
At some point in childhood, through one classic fable or another, most of us absorb the lesson that looks can be deceiving.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Prosecutors earlier accused her of deceiving three men in Singapore and France into transferring money to her accounts, claiming the funds were needed as legal fees and for the opening of new bank accounts.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
She said nothing and he added, “You must trust me, Hyzenthlay. Upon my life, we’re going to vanish. I’m not deceiving you.”
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
