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:
An assortment of politicians and watchdog groups have expressed concern about campaigns using generative AI to produce deepfakes – synthetic videos showing people doing things they did not do – that might deceive voters.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
Your eyes don’t deceive you, he appears measurably improved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Suppose future AI agents learn how to specifically deceive you.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
“But also to deceive, create images which don’t exist in reality with little effort.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
“You keep chanting. I've only come to protect you from these liars who would deceive you.”
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
The team has hypothesized various scenarios where things could spiral out of control, including one where an AI system deceives its creators and then abruptly seizes power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
"Reject every form of abuse or violence, which deceives by promising easy gains but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
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 separate complaint from Rokita argues the app has users’ sensitive and personal information but deceives consumers into believing that information is secure.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
Anyone who believes that new benefits make men of high station forget old injuries deceives himself.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
That’s the way churches have funded themselves for 2,000 years, and the Golden Lampstand’s congregants weren’t deceived.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Robinson said he understood that many delegates felt "deceived and deeply let down by a life of lies", but he added that the party would "face the past honestly".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The lawsuit, joined by a bipartisan group of more than 20 state attorneys general, alleged that Amazon deceived advertisers by secretly raising the minimum price advertisers had to pay to place ads promoting their products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Besides the painful consequences for deceived buyers, code enforcement has the limitation of due process, Bostwick said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
We’d actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
“It can be pretty deceiving until you’re out there and realize how strong the rip currents actually are.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Bai would later be expelled from the surrogacy industry’s ethics group for her role in assisting a U.S. couple accused of deceiving surrogates into carrying more than 20 children for them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The headline number is probably going to be deceiving, however.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
He had blamed his conviction on a girl deceiving him with fake ID, she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
And unless Harry’s ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was “Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck.”
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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.
