delude
Americanverb
-
to deceive the mind or judgment of; mislead; beguile
-
rare to frustrate (hopes, expectations, etc)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of delude
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English deluden, from Latin dēlūdere “to play false,” equivalent to dē- de- + lūdere “to play”
Explanation
To delude is to trick or fool, often in relation to yourself. If you delude yourself into thinking your mom's chocolate cake is low in fat, you'll be disappointed to find out it's made with two sticks of butter! If you delude someone into thinking something, you are making a fool of them, or making them foolish. The word shares a root with ludicrous which means completely ridiculous. The thing that you foolishly believe is a delusion. Someone with delusions of grandeur has deluded themselves into thinking they are very, very special.
Vocabulary lists containing delude
Tricky Terms for April Fool's Day
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Othello
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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.
Flow on, O unconsenting sea, And keep my dead below; Though night—O utter night!—my soul, Delude thee long, I know, Or Life comes or Death comes, God leads the eternal flow.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 101, March, 1866 by Various
Nor shall the desperate act of Leidenberch Delude what we determind.
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
Stay, Stay, most officious senate, I shall straight Delude thy fury.
From Sejanus: His Fall by Jonson, Ben
Delude yourself, if you like, with false hopes.
From The Black Robe by Collins, Wilkie
And aft your moss-traversin Spunkies Decoy the wight that late an' drunk is: The bleezin, curst, mischievous monkies Delude his eyes, Till in some miry slough he sunk is, Ne'er mair to rise.
From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Burns, Robert
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.
