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
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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.
But Americans shouldn’t delude themselves that Taiwan is a mere dot on the map and a charity case.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Let's not delude ourselves, we're looking at human extinction, the death of eight billion people, and there's no way that people will be able to survive in anything like an increase of 5º centigrade.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024
His goal was to delude the rest of us.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023
I’m not a practiced enough viewer to delude myself into thinking I have any chance.
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023
He could no longer delude Kira into thinking this was an ordinary journey.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
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.
