delude
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to deceive the mind or judgment of; mislead; beguile
-
rare to frustrate (hopes, expectations, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
deludesimple
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deludessimple
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have deludedperfect
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has deludedperfect
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am deludingprogressive
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are deludingprogressive
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is deludingprogressive
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have been deludingperfect progressive
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has been deludingperfect progressive
Past
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deludedsimple
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had deludedperfect
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was deludingprogressive
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were deludingprogressive
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had been deludingperfect progressive
Future
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
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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.
“We can delude ourselves for a while that this is not a real cost, but we’re only fooling ourselves at the end of the day,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
If I ever delude myself that I’ve become an “expert” at writing, it might be time for the urn.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024
“Let’s not delude ourselves, Mr. Diab will never be extradited from Canada,” he said.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2023
“They delude themselves with groupthink so that they can pretend this isn’t about hate but about protection, but we know the truth.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2023
Because I wasn’t foolish enough to delude myself for this long—I was absolutely, totally, and completely falling for Sahil Roy.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
