deceivede‧ceive /dɪˈsiːv/ ●○○ verb [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
He had been deceived by a young man claiming to be the son of a millionaire.deceive somebody into doing something He tried to deceive the public into thinking the war could still be won.deceive somebody about something I wouldn’t deceive you about anything as important as this.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say trick rather than deceive:· She thought they were trying to trick her.2deceive yourself to refuse to believe that something is true because the truth is unpleasant: I thought she loved me, but I was deceiving myself.deceive yourself that He didn’t deceive himself that he and Ruth could remain friends.3to give someone a wrong belief or opinion about something: Don’t be deceived by the new cover – this is a rehash of old hits.—deceiver noun [countable]THESAURUSdeceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true: · I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINdeceive
Verb TableOrigin:
1200-1300 Old French deceivre, from Latin decipereVERB TABLE
deceive
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | deceive |
| he, she, it | deceives | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | deceived |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have deceived |
| he, she, it | has deceived | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had deceived |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will deceive |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have deceived |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am deceiving |
| he, she, it | is deceiving | |
| you, we, they | are deceiving | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was deceiving |
| you, we, they | were deceiving | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been deceiving |
| he, she, it | has been deceiving | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been deceiving |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be deceiving |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been deceiving |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- All through the summer Paula was deceived her husband while she was seeing another man.
- If you think that everyone is happy with the plan, you're deceiving yourself.
- Kyl said voters had been deceived by supporters of the new bill.
- Many children's lies are unplanned and not actually designed to deceive.
- This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
- Thousands of home buyers were deceived into buying homes at inflated prices.
- I have been badly deceived and robbed.
- I wouldn't deceive you about anything as important as this.
- She deceives herself more than she deceives anyone else.
- She looks up and smiles at him with a sophisticated, coy, deceiving smile.
- So mortals learned that it is not possible to get the better of Zeus or ever deceive him.
- Those options are limited: shoot, kill, make love, deceive, ambush -- that sort of thing.
THESAURUS► deceive
Collocations especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
► trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
► fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
► mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
► dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.
► con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true: · I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.
Longman Language Activatorto trick someone and make them believe something that is not true► trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · I realized then that I had been tricked, but it was too late.· I'm not trying to trick you - just answer the question.trick somebody into doing something: · The old man's sons had tricked him into signing the papers.trick somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · A man posing as an insurance agent tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
► con informal to trick someone: · He was trying to con me, and I knew it.con somebody into doing something: · They conned the school district into buying the property.con somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · She conned me out of $50.
► deceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true because it is useful for you if they believe it: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.· Many children's lies are unplanned and not actually designed to deceive.· All through the summer Paula was deceiving her husband while she was seeing another man.deceive somebody into doing something: · Thousands of home buyers were deceived into buying homes at inflated prices.deceive yourself: · If you think that everyone is happy with the plan, you're deceiving yourself.
► fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn't fool anyone.fool somebody into doing something: · They managed to fool the police into thinking they had left the country.have somebody fooled: · The brothers' act had us all fooled.you can't fool me spoken: · You can't fool me - I know he's already given you the money.fool yourself: · Maybe I was just fooling myself, but I really thought he liked me.
► mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The report is a deliberate and obvious attempt to mislead.· They were accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of their product.mislead somebody into doing something: · Agents are accused of misleading clients into signing up for savings plans that were actually insurance policies.
► set somebody up to trick someone into doing something that they will be punished for or embarrassed by: · He said, following his arrest last fall, that the FBI had set him up.· Terry and Donald think I set them up, but it's all a big misunderstanding.
► put one over on informal to deceive someone, especially someone who is cleverer than you are, or someone who is not easily deceived: · That's the last time he puts one over on me!· Lawyers claim that the tobacco industry, by failing to tell everything it knew about smoking, was putting one over on its customers.
► pull the wool over somebody's eyes informal to deceive someone, usually by hiding some facts or information: · Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes - I can tell you've been smoking.· The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.
► lead somebody on to make someone believe you and trust you, especially by making them think you are romantically interested in them: · I can't tell if he really cares about me or if he's just leading me on?· I didn't mean to lead Cassie on, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings either.
► take somebody for a ride informal to deceive someone, especially so that you can get their money: · I'd already given him £50 when I realized he was taking me for a ride.· After the deal was signed, I felt like I'd been taken for a ride.
► double-cross to cheat someone you pretended to be helping or working with, especially by helping their enemies: · I'm warning you - if you double-cross me, I'll kill you.· Harry and Danny double-crossed the gang and escaped with all the money.
► dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else's dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.dupe somebody into doing something: · The perpetrators of the hoax managed to dupe respectable journalists into printing their story.
to be tricked or deceived by someone► be tricked/deceived · He knew he'd been tricked, but it was too late to do anything.be tricked/deceived by · Don't feel bad - you weren't the only one who was deceived by his lies.
► be taken in to be deceived by someone's words or behaviour, so that you believe something about them that is not true: · He seemed so confident, that I was completely taken in.be taken in by: · We were all taken in by the scheme and invested far more money than we should have.
► fall for to stupidly believe something that is untrue and is intended to deceive you: · Doug is too clever to fall for a story like that!· She completely fell for his nonsense about being rich and famous.
► be fooled to be deceived by someone's behaviour, words, or appearance, especially when the result is not serious: · Don't let yourself be fooled - she's not as nice as she seems.be fooled by: · A lot of people were fooled by what he said, but I was sure he was lying.
► be set up to be tricked into doing something that results in you being punished or embarrassed: · I'm innocent! I was set up!be set up by: · The young man's claim that he had been set up by the police was eventually supported by several witnesses.
► be duped to be deceived by someone, especially so that you become involved in their dishonest activity without realizing it: · When the police arrived to arrest her, she realized she had been duped.be duped by: · Richie couldn't believe he had been set up and duped by his friends.
a trick► trick a clever plan designed to make someone believe something that you want them to believe, or do something that you want them to do: · He pretended to be sick as a trick to get her to visit him.· Don't send her any money - it might be a trick.a trick question (=a question that is cleverly designed to make someone give a wrong answer): · He refused to answer, suspecting they were asking him a trick question.
► trap a clever plan designed to harm someone, for example by making them go somewhere where they will be caught or attacked, or making them say something they will be punished for: · I didn't take the money with me, because I was worried it might be a trap.· Sensing the lawyer's trap, Horvath refused to answer.
► deception especially written something that is said or done with the deliberate intention of deceiving people: · Ann quickly saw through his lies and deceptions.· What began as a misunderstanding quickly became a deliberate deception on the part of the network.
► ruse a trick, especially one that is amusing and not very serious: · It was just a ruse to get what I wanted!· She asked to use the telephone as a ruse to enter the house.
► hoax a false warning about something dangerous, given especially to someone in an official position, for example the police: · To everybody's great relief, the bomb scare turned out to be a hoax.· I got an email about another computer virus, but I'm pretty sure it's just a hoax.
► congame/con informal a trick to get someone's money or make someone do something: · The two men were involved in an elaborate con to cheat investors out of their money.· Senior citizens are usually easy targets for con games.
► put-up job when something that happens is not what it seems to be, and is really an attempt to deceive people: · Journalists suspected that the kidnapping was a put-up job.· The demonstration was a put-up job, organized by the authorities so they could arrest the cult leaders.
► scam informal a clever and dishonest plan to get money: · The welfare scam was costing the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars.· The offer of a "free" vacation to Florida sounds like a scam to me.
► diversion a trick that is intended to take someone's attention away from what someone else is trying to do: · Some of the prisoners started a fight as a diversion to give the others time to escape.create a diversion: · Rioters created a diversion by setting fire to vehicles close to the police station.
► decoy a person or thing that is used to trick someone by taking their attention away from an illegal or criminal act: · You act as a decoy and we'll sneak out the back.· The burglars started the fire as a decoy so that they could escape from police.
someone who is deceived► dupe someone who is tricked by someone else, especially so that they become involved in the other person's dishonest plans without realizing it: · Investigators believe Dailey was a dupe for international drug smugglers.unwitting dupe: · Some portray the family as unwitting dupes of conspiracy theorists.
► sucker informal someone who believes everything they are told, even when it is clearly not true: · I know I'm a sucker. I'll give $10 to anyone who tells me they're hungry or wants a cup of coffee.· Some poor suckers had paid more than three times what they should have for the tickets.
► mug British informal someone who is easily deceived, especially so that they do much more or give much more than is fair or reasonable: · He's asked me to work over the weekend again - he must think I'm some kind of mug.· Don't be a mug! That picture's not worth as much as that!
someone who tricks other people► con man/con artist/scam artist someone who tries to get money from people by tricking them: · A pair of con men have been tricking older people in the community out of their life savings.· Don't be fooled by con artists who promise enormous returns on your investment with no risk.· Petty scam artists victimize tourists on the streets.
► crook informal a dishonest person who steals things or tricks people: · I wouldn't do business with him - he's a crook.· People have accused me of being a crook, but I didn't take any money that wasn't mine.
► charlatan someone who pretends to have special skills and abilities and tricks people into believing them: · Some psychic charlatan convinced her she was going to die in six months.· Charlatans advertise a variety of fat-reducing treatments in the back of magazines.
► quack informal a dishonest person who pretends to be a doctor who can cure diseases: · Larry paid some quack over a thousand dollars to cure his insomnia.· That quack doesn't know anything about treating heart disease.
► shyster American informal a dishonest person, especially a lawyer: · Their lawyer is a shyster who would do anything to win a case.· Once the shysters get involved, you can be sure we'll end up in court.
► snake-oil salesman/peddler American someone who deceives people by persuading them to accept false information, solutions etc that are not effective: · Critics have called the Senator a smooth-talking snake-oil peddler.· Latenight TV is full of snake-oil salesmen offering get-rich-quick schemes.
when someone tricks or deceives someone► deception the act of deceiving someone, especially by telling them lies: · I'm sure many businessmen use some form of deception, at times, to achieve their objectives.· She was stunned by the lies and deception her husband had used to hide his affairs.
► deceit the act of deceiving someone - use this to show strong disapproval: · His political opponents have accused him of corruption and deceit.· He now found himself in a world where deceit was accepted, even expected.
► set up a situation in which someone is tricked into doing something that results in them being punished: · Is this some kind of a set up? Why should I believe you?· The whole thing was a set up to get Burley to confess.
► trickery especially written the use of clever plans or actions to deceive someone: · It was a piece of political trickery that enraged the opposition.· He's managed to get as far as he has through slick talking and trickery.
intended to deceive► deceitful words or actions that are deceitful are intended to deceive someone: · He got the contract, but only by being deceitful.· I don't trust her. I think she has a deceitful smile.· The company has engaged in deceitful practices for years.
► misleading misleading information or statements make people believe something that is not true, especially by not giving them all the facts: · The advertisements were deliberately misleading and false.· In court Robbins made misleading statements about his involvement.it is misleading to say/treat/speak of etc: · It would be misleading to say that the recession will soon be over.
► under false pretences British /under false pretenses American if you do something under false pretences , you do it by pretending that the situation is different from what it really is: · He got a loan from the bank under false pretences.· Immigration officers attempt to catch people entering the country under false pretenses.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► people
Phrases· But is it not the only fair way to describe a policy that deceived so many people for so long?· The scam, first detected in October 1994, deceived people from 41 states and the District of Columbia.· Understandably, the Oeuvres complètes have deceived many people.
► public· It is a method of deceiving the public.
VERB► flatter· The slapping sea sounds nice but it's insincere, flattering to deceive, flattering to deceive.· But it was a success that flattered to deceive.· After they lost their first two matches those fans must have wondered if once again Leeds were going to flatter to deceive.· But once more the Paseo flatters to deceive.
► try· I remember that the Form Manipulator will try and deceive.· It's useless to try and deceive them.· Don't try to deceive me, Alain.· Then he would try to deceive me: he would show me my nose which he had pulled off with his fingers.· They are trying to deceive you but you are safe at the moment.· These people did not try to deceive anyone.· Charles and Lothar were not simply deceiving each other; still less did they try to deceive their own followers.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► deceive yourself
Word family- Many parents deceive themselves about their children's behavior.
- He could almost deceive himself that she was confiding in him.
- I loved her, but I never deceived myself.
- If a man dissemble, deceive, he deceives himself, and goes out of acquaintance with his own being.
- It was no use deceiving herself any longer.
- Not for a moment had she been able to deceive herself that she was anything but bad, truly bad.
- She deceives herself more than she deceives anyone else.
- Was she not indeed, not only trapping herself, but deceiving herself, being, to herself, a traitor?
WORD FAMILYnoundeceitdeceiverdeceptionadjectivedeceitfuldeceptiveverbdeceiveadverbdeceptively
1to make someone believe something that is not true → deception: He had been deceived by a young man claiming to be the son of a millionaire.deceive somebody into doing something He tried to deceive the public into thinking the war could still be won.deceive somebody about something I wouldn’t deceive you about anything as important as this.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say trick rather than deceive:· She thought they were trying to trick her.2deceive yourself to refuse to believe that something is true because the truth is unpleasant: I thought she loved me, but I was deceiving myself.deceive yourself that He didn’t deceive himself that he and Ruth could remain friends.3to give someone a wrong belief or opinion about something: Don’t be deceived by the new cover – this is a rehash of old hits.—deceiver noun [countable]THESAURUSdeceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true: · I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.