DECEIVE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does deceive mean? 

• DECEIVE (verb)
  The verb DECEIVE has 2 senses:

1. be false to; be dishonest with

2. cause someone to believe an untruth

  Familiarity information: DECEIVE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECEIVE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they deceive    ... he / she / it deceives   
Past simple: deceived   
Past participle: deceived   
-ing form: deceiving   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be false to; be dishonest with

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

cozen; deceive; delude; lead on

Hypernyms (to "deceive" is one way to...):

victimise; victimize (make a victim of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "deceive"):

betray; sell (deliver to an enemy by treachery)

cheat; chisel (engage in deceitful behavior; practice trickery or fraud)

shill (act as a shill)

flim-flam; fob; fox; play a joke on; play a trick on; play tricks; pull a fast one on; trick (deceive somebody)

befool; fool; gull (make a fool or dupe of)

betray; cheat; cheat on; cuckold; wander (be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage)

hoax; play a joke on; pull someone's leg (subject to a playful hoax or joke)

ensnare; entrap; frame; set up (take or catch as if in a snare or trap)

humbug (trick or deceive)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

deception (the act of deceiving)

deception (a misleading falsehood)

deceptive (designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently)

deceptive (causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause someone to believe an untruth

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

betray; deceive; lead astray

Context example:

The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house

Hypernyms (to "deceive" is one way to...):

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "deceive"):

impersonate; personate; pose (pretend to be someone you are not; sometimes with fraudulent intentions)

bamboozle; hoodwink; lead by the nose; play false; pull the wool over someone's eyes; snow (conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end)

befool; cod; dupe; fool; gull; put on; put one across; put one over; slang; take in (fool or hoax)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

undeceive (free from deception or illusion)

Derivation:

deceiver (someone who leads you to believe something that is not true)

deception (the act of deceiving)

deceptive (designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently)

deceptive (causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true)

 Context examples 

“I cannot possibly advise you if you try to deceive me,” said he.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She had deceived his expectations; she had lost his good opinion.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

His very tone betray him, or my ears deceive.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

How could you deceive me so, Mr. Thorpe?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The miller thought to himself: “The wolf wants to deceive someone,” and refused; but the wolf said: “If you will not do it, I will devour you.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“Thank you. You are so kind!” replied the happily deceived aunt, while eagerly hunting for the letter.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

If I should go out of this Palace my people would soon discover I am not a Wizard, and then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

But Mr. Jorkins has a way of stating his objections which often deceives people.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“We shall go clear,” I said, with a confidence which I knew deceived neither of us.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

No, young fellah my lad, there is no use deceiving yourself.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)