deceive

/dɪˈsiːv/

deceive means to trick or mislead.

deceive is pronounced /dɪˈsiːv/.

Etymology

From Middle English deceyven, from Anglo-Norman deceivre, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan.

verb

To trick or mislead.e.g.“It feels painful to begin seeing clearly, that you’ve been deceived by the very people and institutions you trusted to guide you.”

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

delude 77% match — To deceive into believing something which is false; to lead into error; to dupe. vs deceive →
beguile 74% match — To deceive or delude (using guile). vs deceive →
deceit 71% match — An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick. vs deceive →
deceivous 71% match — deceptive vs deceive →
deceiving 71% match — deception vs deceive →
deceivance 71% match — deceit, deception vs deceive →
deceitful 70% match — Deliberately misleading or cheating. vs deceive →
deceivingly 70% match — In a deceiving manner. vs deceive →