self-deceitn.
/ˌsɛlfdᵻˈsiːt/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfdəˈsit/ The action or result of convincing oneself of the truth of a false or unvalidated feeling, idea, or situation; self-deception.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deception by illusion, delusion > self-deception > [noun]
self-deceit1590
self-deceiving1614
self-abusea1616
self-delusion1625
self-deceitfulness1642
self-deception1648
bad faith1947
1590 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie sig. I2v Thus feeds the hart vpon his endles harmes, Thus glut the thoughts themselues on self deceit.
a1649 G. Abbot Brief Notes Psalms (1651) lxxiii. 310 I have so surfeited of self-deceit that abstracted from God I see now what I am.
1679 J. Flavell Touchstone of Sincerity ii. 16 Evidences of self-deceit in matters of Religion.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 399. ¶2 This fatal Hypocrisie and Self-deceit.
1774 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. III. 123 The most fatal delusion and self-deceit.
1828 D. Stewart Philos. Powers of Man I. ii. ii. 157 Our moral powers are warped by the influence of self-partiality and self-deceit.
1870 J. H. Burton Hist. Scotl. to 1688 VI. lxx. 506 A characteristic that must have comprehended self-deceit.
1933 Mod. Psychologist Nov. 263/2 He can no longer use these methods of self-deceit for evading his real problems.
1997 J. Brook in S. Champion Disco Biscuits 131 The place is full of runaways and losers who earn a parasitic dollar off the tourists... I marvel at the self-deceit of the blank-eyed tourist clubbers.
2016 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 12 Nov. 16 Any such alleged belief in consent must be genuinely held. Self-deceit is not a defence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1590