deceive

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deceive

/dɪˈsiːv/

Rhymes with -iːv

Where it comes from

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 deceives · deceiving · deceived · deceave

transitive To trick or mislead. It feels painful to begin seeing clearly, that you’ve been deceived by the very people and institutions you trusted to guide you.
Similar: abuse, beglammer, counterfeit, deceive, catch, trap into, dissemble, dissimulate, feign, jiff, lead astray, overreach

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: lead on, delude, betray, lead astray, cozen, trick, deceit, swindle, defraud, cheat, foist, mislead, misinform, abuse, disorientate, err

Translations

Every language

verb trick or mislead

Español	engañar, decebir, meter la yuca, meter el dedo, embaír, descrestar
한국어	속이다 sogida
日本語	騙す damasu, 欺く azamuku
中文	欺騙 /欺骗 qīpiàn, 欺詐 /欺诈 qīzhà
हिन्दी	धोखा देना dhokhā denā
Português	enganar
Français	tromper, leurrer, séduire
Deutsch	betrügen, täuschen
Italiano	ingannare
Ελληνικά	εξαπατώ exapató
Română	înșela, amăgi
Русский	обма́нывать obmányvatʹ, обману́ть obmanútʹ
Tiếng Việt	lừa, lừa bịp, bịp, lừa dối
العربية	خَدَعَ ḵadaʕa, غَشَّ ḡašša, غَرَّ ḡarra
עברית	רִמָּה rimmá, הוֹנָה honá

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MLA

"deceive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/deceive. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

deceive. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/deceive

Chicago

"deceive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/deceive.

BibTeX

@misc{deceive_2026,
  title = {deceive},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/deceive},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}