deceive
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude.
They deceived the enemy by disguising the destroyer as a freighter.
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to be unfaithful to (one's spouse or lover).
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Archaic. to while away (time).
verb (used without object)
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.
Related Words
See cheat.
Other Word Forms
- deceivability noun
- deceivable adjective
- deceivableness noun
- deceivably adverb
- deceiver noun
- deceiving noun
- deceivingly adverb
- interdeceive verb
- nondeceiving adjective
- predeceive verb (used with object)
- redeceive verb (used with object)
- well-deceived adjective
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”
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.
Walk-throughs before practices, he said, are essential to help go through the steps that will enable him to deceive defenders at full speed during games.
From Los Angeles Times
“One of the main ways to avoid being deceived is to think about information that people aren’t showing you or information that’s missing.”
From MarketWatch
“Instead of trying to deceive voters with deepfake videos, low-integrity Congressman Mike Collins should explain why he supports doubling Georgians’ health insurance premiums,” said Democratic Party of Georgia senior communications adviser Devon Cruz.
From Salon
In a court filing, the Federal Trade Commission accused ticket-selling giants Ticketmaster and Live Nation of acquiring illegal brokers and deceiving customers with lower prices.
From Los Angeles Times
It said that "an unregistered and misleading organization" had exploited the plight of the Gaza citizens, "deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner".
From BBC
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.
