Meaning & use
deceive
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make someone believe something false on purpose, usually for your own benefit.
Grammar: Takes an object: deceive the customers. Often with into plus -ing: deceived into signing.
Patterns
- deceive someone
- deceive someone into doing something
The seller deceived buyers about the car's age.
She felt deceived when she found out the truth.
He deceived them into trusting him.
verbtransitiveformal
To be unfaithful to a partner in secret.
Grammar: Often in the phrase deceive your partner.
Patterns
- deceive your partner
He admitted that he had deceived his wife for years.
She could not forgive being deceived.
verbtransitive
To lead yourself to believe something that is not true.
Grammar: Usually reflexive: deceive yourself.
Patterns
- deceive yourself
Don't deceive yourself: the task will take weeks.
He deceived himself into thinking nobody noticed.
We were deceiving ourselves about how easy it would be.
Word forms
| third person singular | deceives |
|---|---|
| past tense | deceived |
| past participle | deceived |
| -ing form | deceiving |
Common combinations
- deceive yourself
- If you think it will be easy, you are deceiving yourself.
- deceive the public
- The company tried to deceive the public.
- deliberately deceive
- He deliberately deceived the committee.
- easily deceived
- Older relatives can be easily deceived by scams.
- deceive the eye
- The optical trick deceived the eye.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mislead
- Mislead can be accidental, while deceive is deliberate.
- trick
- Trick is lighter and may be playful, whereas deceive is more serious.
- fool
- Fool is informal and focuses on making someone look gullible.
- dupe
- Dupe suggests the victim was easily cheated and often emphasizes the victim's gullibility.
Opposites
Word family
- deception noun
- the act of deceiving
- deceptive adjective
- giving a false impression
- deceitful adjective
- tending to lie or cheat
- deceiver noun
- a person who deceives
- deceptively adverb
- in a misleading way
Commonly confused: deceive or receive? deceive or deceit?
deceive vs receive
Receive means to get something; deceive means to trick. The words rhyme and share the ei spelling.
deceive vs deceit
Deceit is the noun for dishonest behavior; deceive is the verb.
Practice
He tried to ______ the inspectors by hiding the damaged goods.
Choose one answer.
Deceive means to mislead on purpose, which fits hiding the goods. Perceive means to notice, so it does not fit the intent.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deceive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.