deceit

[ dih-seet ]
See synonyms for deceit on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating: Once she exposed their deceit, no one ever trusted them again.

  2. an act or device intended to deceive; trick; stratagem.

  1. the quality of being deceitful; duplicity; falseness: a man full of deceit.

Origin of deceit

1
1225–75; Middle English deceite<Anglo-French, Old French, noun use of feminine of deceit, past participle of deceivre to deceive

synonym study For deceit

1, 3. See duplicity

Other words for deceit

Opposites for deceit

Other words from deceit

  • non·de·ceit, noun

Words Nearby deceit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use deceit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deceit

deceit

/ (dɪˈsiːt) /


noun
  1. the act or practice of deceiving

  2. a statement, act, or device intended to mislead; fraud; trick

  1. a tendency to deceive

Origin of deceit

1
C13: from Old French deceite, from deceivre to deceive

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012