self-deception
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-deception
First recorded in 1670–80
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.
What makes this powerful is that it doesn’t feel like self-deception.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Fairy In A Bottle is a glorious bruise of a song, all about Alon's capacity for self-deception: "I want to worship you before the hope expires."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2025
To not see this for what it is can be attributed to being naïve and gullible, to self-deception by outright denial, or to being complicit.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2025
The way Madison leans into Ani’s audacity while revealing the fragile façade, the vulnerabilities and self-deception lurking underneath, is phenomenal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
Perhaps this is just more self-deception, yet another attempt to prove to myself that I’m not worthless.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
