DECEIVE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Deceive

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/dɪsˈiv/ Listen

verb

Deceive v. t. (past & past part. deceived; pres. part. deceiving)

To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." "Nimble jugglers that deceive the eye." "What can 'scape the eye Of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart?"

To beguile; to amuse, so as to divert the attention; to while away; to take away as if by deception. "These occupations oftentimes deceived The listless hour."

To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud. (Obs.) "Plant fruit trees in large borders, and set therein fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive the trees."

Synonyms: Deceive, Delude, Mislead. Deceive is a general word applicable to any kind of misrepresentation affecting faith or life. To delude, primarily, is to make sport of, by deceiving, and is accomplished by playing upon one's imagination or credulity, as by exciting false hopes, causing him to undertake or expect what is impracticable, and making his failure ridiculous. It implies some infirmity of judgment in the victim, and intention to deceive in the deluder. But it is often used reflexively, indicating that a person's own weakness has made him the sport of others or of fortune; as, he deluded himself with a belief that luck would always favor him. To mislead is to lead, guide, or direct in a wrong way, either willfully or ignorantly.

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Etymology of 'Deceive'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Deceive" Quotes from Famous Books

... water and make it muddy for a space around, so that the fish cannot see them; they then toss a flat disk of wood so that it falls with an audible splash a few yards away. This manoeuvre is intended to deceive the fish into thinking something eatable has fallen into the water. Woe betide the guileless fish, however, whose innocent, confiding nature is thus imposed upon, for "swish" goes a circular drop-net over ...

— Around the World on a Bicycle Volume II. - From Teheran To Yokohama • Thomas Stevens

... preserved in its passage through the gizzard, and, resuming its oval shape in the thinner pulpy mass contained in the upper portion of the intestine, present the appearance of seed in the cloacal discharges, and thus deceive the casual observer. But the use of a spatula and a small piece of polished stone slab will show that the entire discharge is excrementitious matter, with the single exception of this silicious ...

— Life: Its True Genesis • R. W. Wright

... the master, Baiame, deceives the women as to the Mysteries! Shocking to US, but to deceive the women as to these arcana, is, to the Australian mind in general, necessary for the safety of the world. Moreover, we have heard of a lying spirit sent to deceive prophets in a much higher creed. Finally, in a myth of the Mystery of the Wiraijuri, Baiame is not omniscient. Indeed, even civilised ...

— Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1 • Andrew Lang

... as she is there, she can still deceive; but if this white-lead is washed off, her ...

— The Eleven Comedies - Vol. I • Aristophanes et al

... were secretly engaged! and she hoped I would not mention it to anybody; and presently, when he joined us, would I mind riding on, as she had so few chances to talk to him? That she would not for the world deceive her mother, but there were mysteries connected with her religion which Lady Carriston could not understand, being only Low Church. But when they saw a prospect of getting married they would tell her about it; if they did it now, she would persuade the Duke not to give Mr. ...

— The Visits of Elizabeth • Elinor Glyn

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