deceptive

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

deceptive

/dɪˈsɛp.tɪv/

Rhymes with -ɛptɪv

Where it comes from

From Middle French déceptif, from Latin dēceptīvus, from dēcipiō (“to deceive”).

adjective more deceptive · most deceptive

Likely or attempting to deceive. deceptive practices
Similar: misleading, sneaking, beguiling, deceitful, deceptious, deceptive, deceptory, fallacious, fraudful, fraudulent, mendacious

Opposite: honest, nonfraudulent, undeceitful, undeceptive, unmisleading

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: misleading, delusory, dishonest, dishonorable, unreal, deceitful, deceiving, deceit, mendacious, fraudulent, cheated, spurious, untruthful, underhand, delusive, insidious

adjective

Opposite: honest, nonfraudulent, undeceitful, undeceptive, unmisleading

Translations

Every language

adj misleading, attempting to deceive

Español	engañoso, engañador, delusorio, decebiente
日本語	欺瞞的 gimanteki
中文	迷惑的 míhuò de
हिन्दी	भ्रामक bhrāmak
Português	enganoso, enganador
Français	trompeur, qui induit en erreur, illusoire, mensonger, déceptif
Deutsch	betrügerisch, irreführend, trügerisch
Italiano	ingannevole
Русский	обма́нчивый obmánčivyj
עברית	מטעה mat'é, שקרי shikrí

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{deceptive_2026,
  title = {deceptive},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/deceptive},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}