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deceptive

[ dih-sep-tiv ]
/ dɪˈsɛp tɪv /
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adjective
apt or tending to deceive: The enemy's peaceful overtures may be deceptive.
perceptually misleading: It looks like a curved line, but it's deceptive.
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Origin of deceptive

1605–15; <Medieval Latin dēceptīvus, equivalent to Latin dēcept(us) (see deception) + -īvus-ive

OTHER WORDS FROM deceptive

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

How to use deceptive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deceptive

deceptive
/ (dɪˈsɛptɪv) /

adjective
likely or designed to deceive; misleadingappearances can be deceptive
music (of a cadence) another word for interrupted (def. 3)

Derived forms of deceptive

deceptively, adverbdeceptiveness, noun
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
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