Meaning & use
delude
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To make someone believe something that is not true, especially in a way that leads them to a wrong or foolish idea.
Grammar: Takes an object: she deluded her followers into thinking the plan was safe.
Patterns
- delude someone into doing something
- delude someone with something
- delude someone about something
The advertisement deluded buyers into thinking the pills could cure anything.
Don't let their cheerful words delude you; the company is in trouble.
The con artist deluded many retirees with promises of easy profits.
verbtransitive
To keep believing something false about yourself or your situation because you wish it were true.
Grammar: Used with a reflexive pronoun: delude yourself, delude himself.
Patterns
- delude yourself
- delude yourself into believing something
He deluded himself into thinking he could finish the project in a day.
Stop deluding yourself; the team is not ready for the finals.
Many of us delude ourselves about how much we really exercise.
Word forms
| third person singular | deludes |
|---|---|
| past tense | deluded |
| past participle | deluded |
| -ing form | deluding |
Common combinations
- delude yourself
- Don't delude yourself that the exam will be easy.
- delude someone into believing
- The ad deluded customers into believing the product was free.
- deluded into thinking
- They were deluded into thinking that success would come overnight.
- be deluded about
- She is deluded about her chances of winning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deceive
- Deceive is broader and can mean any deliberate trickery, whereas delude often implies a false belief that the person holds firmly, sometimes by their own choice.
- mislead
- Mislead means to lead someone in a wrong direction and is milder; it need not create a deep false belief.
- kid
- Kid yourself is the informal, lighter equivalent of delude yourself.
- fool
- Fool stresses that the person was tricked, while delude stresses the false belief that remains.
Opposites
Word family
- delusion noun
- a false belief that is held despite evidence
- deluded adjective
- holding a false belief
- delusional adjective
- having beliefs that do not match reality
- delusive adjective
- giving a false impression
Commonly confused: delude or allude? delude or elude?
delude vs allude
Allude means to mention something indirectly; it is not about creating false beliefs.
delude vs elude
Elude means to escape from or avoid someone or something, as in a thief eluding the police.
Practice
If you think you can pass without studying, you are ____ yourself.
Choose one answer.
Delude yourself means to hold a false belief because you want to. Eluding means escaping and alluding means mentioning indirectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “delude”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.