deceive definition

English

Alternative forms

• deceave (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English deceyven, desayven, dissayven, from Old French decever, decevoir, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈsiːv/
• Hyphenation: de‧ceive

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːv

Verb

deceive (third-person singular simple present deceives, present participle deceiving, simple past and past participle deceived)

1. (transitive) To trick or mislead.
   • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club‎^[1]:

     Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.”

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:deceive

Derived terms

• flatter to deceive

Related terms

• deception
• deceptive
• deceit

Translations

Further reading

• “deceive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “deceive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.