deceptive
Americanadjective
-
apt or tending to deceive.
The enemy's peaceful overtures may be deceptive.
- Synonyms:
- specious, fallacious, delusive
-
perceptually misleading.
It looks like a curved line, but it's deceptive.
adjective
-
likely or designed to deceive; misleading
appearances can be deceptive
-
music (of a cadence) another word for interrupted
Usage
What does deceptive mean? Deceptive means intended to or tending to deceive—to lie, mislead, or otherwise hide or distort the truth. Deceptive is typically used to describe an action or something that deceives or is intended to deceive, as in deceptive business practices. The related noun deception refers to the act or practice of deceiving or being deceptive. Being deceptive doesn’t just involve lying. It can consist of misrepresenting or omitting the truth or more complicated cover-ups. Anything that involves intentionally misleading someone is deceptive. The word deceitful often means the same thing but is more likely to be used to describe a person, whereas deceptive is more commonly applied to actions and practices. Deceptive can also be used to describe things that are naturally or innocently misleading to one’s perception (without someone doing the deceiving). This sense of the word is especially used in its adverb form—for example, something might be called deceptively small because it looks bigger than it is. The adjective deceiving means the same thing. Example: The report was widely criticized for being deceptive by intentionally omitting crucial pieces of information.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deceptive
First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin dēceptīvus, equivalent to Latin dēcept(us) “deceived” ( see deception) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Something that's deceptive is not what it seems. A deceptive person will lead you to believe something other than the truth. Of course, I would never be deceptive when explaining the word deceptive. If someone tells you that “appearances can be deceptive,” they mean you should look closely at your surroundings because the truth might not be obvious. You might see a connection between the verb to deceive and the adjective deceptive, so you are on to something. If you deceive someone, you are being deceptive. Is it ok to be deceptive when you're planning a surprise party?
Vocabulary lists containing deceptive
Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 2
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Red Kayak
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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.
The lawsuit alleges that Revolve violated the Florida Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Consumers Legal Remedy Act and the Unlawful Business Practices Act as well as consumer protection laws in more than 20 states.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025
Deceptive deepfakes created with AI programs have also popped up before elections in India, Mexico, Moldova, Slovakia and Bangladesh.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024
In a court filing in response to PFLAG's lawsuit, Paxton’s office admitted it does not believe the nonprofit is violating the state’s consumer protection law, known as the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
From Salon • May 30, 2024
Furthermore, this proposed order does not alter Illinois’ Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act or my office’s preexisting authority under the act, and I remain committed to protecting consumers against all deceptive practices.”
From Washington Times • Dec. 12, 2023
You can listen to a few simple cadences here: Perfect Cadence53 , Plagal Cadence54 , Half-cadence55 , Deceptive Cadence56 .
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
