delude

[dih-lood]

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verb (used with object), de·lud·ed, de·lud·ing.

to mislead the mind or judgment of; deceive: His conceit deluded him into believing he was important.
Obsolete. to mock or frustrate the hopes or aims of.
Obsolete. to elude; evade.

Origin of delude

1400–50; late Middle English deluden < Latin dēlūdere to play false, equivalent to dē- de- + lūdere to play

Related formsde·lud·er, nounde·lud·ing·ly, adverbnon·de·lud·ed, adjectivenon·de·lud·ing, adjectiveun·de·lud·ed, adjectiveun·de·lud·ed·ly, adverbun·de·lud·ing, adjective

Synonyms for delude

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1. beguile, cozen, dupe, cheat, defraud, gull.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for deluded

mistaken, betrayed, duped

Examples from the Web for deluded

Contemporary Examples of deluded

While obviously not as cartoonish as the deluded leaders in The Office, du Pont seemed to stretch credulity at times.
Channing Tatum Is the Real Star of ‘Foxcatcher'
Nico Hines
October 23, 2014
All but in the fevered dreams of power mad politicians and their deluded followers is a world without immigration possible.
Superman Is Jewish: The Hebrew Roots of America's Greatest Superhero
Rich Goldstein
August 16, 2014
But for Dawkins the “rape is rape is rape” believers are the deluded absolutists.
Atheist King Richard Dawkins’ Rape Fantasy
Tim Teeman
July 31, 2014
When news leaked that Beyoncé lip-synced “The Star Spangled Banner,” her “Beyhive” came alive in (deluded) defense of the star.
Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga’s Fan Armies Rally on Twitter
Tricia Romano
January 30, 2013
The aggrieved and deluded suggest secession—a question that was definitively settled four score and seven years ago.
The GOP Faces Years in the Wilderness After 2012 Election Losses
Robert Shrum
November 26, 2012

Historical Examples of deluded

And what had so enchanted the poor prisoner, so deluded the poor maniac?
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Where were those silly hopes with which, at one time, he had deluded himself?
Fair Harbor
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
Could it be that, after all, Mackintosh had been mistaken, or that Red Fox had deluded them?
The Fiery Totem
Argyll Saxby
Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all—the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
Do not be deluded with this idea that one party is right and the other wrong.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
Various

British Dictionary definitions for deluded

delude

verb (tr)

to deceive the mind or judgment of; mislead; beguile
rare to frustrate (hopes, expectations, etc)

Derived Formsdeludable, adjectivedeluder, noundeludingly, adverb

Word Origin for delude

C15: from Latin dēlūdere to mock, play false, from de- + lūdere to play

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

Word Origin and History for deluded

delude

c.1400, from Latin deludere "to play false; to mock, deceive," from de- "down, to one's detriment" + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Related: Deluded; deluding.