deceptive en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /dɪˈsɛp.tɪv/
Etymology
From Middle French déceptif, from Latin dēceptīvus, from dēcipiō (“to deceive”).
Meanings
-
Likely or attempting to deceive.
[…] at the opening of the campaign, the French, after various deceptive attempts on different places, suddenly invested Tournay.
1789, Frederick the Great, translated by Thomas Holcroft, The History of My Own Times, London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, Part 1, Chapter 12, p. 163:deceptive practices
Appearances can be deceptive.
But others declare that no Creature can be made or tranſmuted into a better or vvorſe, or transformed into another ſpecies or ſimilitude, by man, or devill. […] Martinus [i.e., Martin] Delrio the Jeſuit accounts this degeneration of Man into a Beaſt to be an illuſion, deceptive and repugnant to Nature; for, the ſoule of man cannot informe a beaſts body, […]
1653, John Bulwer, “Scene XXIIII. Cruell and Fantasticall Inventions of Men Practised upon Their Bodies in a Supposed Way of Bravery, and Wicked Practices both of Men and Devils to Alter and Deforme the Humane Fabricke”, in Anthropometamorphosis: Man Transform’d; or, The Artificial Changling […], 2nd edition, London: […] William Hunt, →OCLC, page 521:1846, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord, London: John W. Parker, 2nd ed., 1847, Preliminary Essay, Chapter 2, p. 10, language altogether deceptive, and hiding the deeper reality from our eyes
[…] it is characteristic of TB that many of its symptoms are deceptive—liveliness that comes from enervation, rosy cheeks that look like a sign of health but come from fever—and an upsurge of vitality may be a sign of approaching death.
1978, Susan Sontag, chapter 2, in Illness as Metaphor, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, page 13:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most deceptive | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more deceptive | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
undeceitful · undeceptive · nonfraudulent · unmisleading · honest
Deriveds
undeceptive · deceptive cadence · self-deceptive · deceptive advertising · appearances are deceptive · deceptive cognate · deceptively · deceptiveness · nondeceptive · deceptivity
Relateds
insidious · false · delusive · + -ing · dishonest · deceit · disingenuous · deception · insincere · r · collusive · illusive · duplicitous · misinforming · covinous · guileful · misleading · elusive · on · tricky · untrue · wily · hallucinatory · delusory · treacherous · illusory · deceive
Synonyms
sneaking · deceptive · beguiling · deceptious · fraudulent · fallacious · fraudful · misleading · deceptory · deceitful · mendacious
Translations (59)
cs podvodný (misleading, attempting to deceive) · he מטעה (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fa نیرنگباز (misleading, attempting to deceive) · bg измамен (misleading, attempting to deceive) · izh pettelikko (misleading, attempting to deceive) · sa द्रुह्वन् (misleading, attempting to deceive) · he שקרי (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fi petollinen (misleading, attempting to deceive) · la deceptivus (misleading, attempting to deceive) · jam ginnal (misleading, attempting to deceive) · nl bedrieglijk (misleading, attempting to deceive) · jam samfie (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fr illusoire (misleading, attempting to deceive) · enm deceyvable (misleading, attempting to deceive) · de irreführend (misleading, attempting to deceive) · grc ἀπατηλός (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ast engañador (misleading, attempting to deceive) · es engañador (misleading, attempting to deceive) · de betrügerisch (misleading, attempting to deceive) · gd cealgach (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cs klamný (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ru обма́нчивый (misleading, attempting to deceive) · la fallens (misleading, attempting to deceive) · tr yanıltıcı (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fr trompeur (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fr déceptif (misleading, attempting to deceive) · la captiōsus (misleading, attempting to deceive) · gl enganoso (misleading, attempting to deceive) · es engañoso (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cs matoucí (misleading, attempting to deceive) · de trügerisch (misleading, attempting to deceive) · sv missvisande (misleading, attempting to deceive) · hu megtévesztő (misleading, attempting to deceive) · gd mealltach (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ca enganyós (misleading, attempting to deceive) · nl misleidend (misleading, attempting to deceive) · nl onoprecht (misleading, attempting to deceive) · bg заблуждаващ (misleading, attempting to deceive) · es decebiente (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cmn 迷惑的 (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ga cealgach (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fr qui induit en erreur (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ast engañosu (misleading, attempting to deceive) · grc ἀρισφαλής (misleading, attempting to deceive) · es delusorio (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ga fabhtach (misleading, attempting to deceive) · la fallax (misleading, attempting to deceive) · pt enganador (misleading, attempting to deceive) · it ingannevole (misleading, attempting to deceive) · pt enganoso (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fr mensonger (misleading, attempting to deceive) · sv bedräglig (misleading, attempting to deceive) · ja 欺瞞的 (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cs falešný (misleading, attempting to deceive) · hi भ्रामक (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cs ošidný (misleading, attempting to deceive) · fi harhaanjohtava (misleading, attempting to deceive) · gd carach (misleading, attempting to deceive) · cs zavádějící (misleading, attempting to deceive)