Deceptive

/dɪˈsɛp.tɪv/ · adjective

Meaning

Likely or attempting to deceive..

Example Sentences

deceptive practices

Appearances can be deceptive.

1846, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord, London: John W. Parker, 2nd ed., 1847, Preliminary Essay, Chapter 2, p. 10, language altogether deceptive, and hiding the deeper reality from our eyes

But others declare that no Creature can be made or tranſmuted into a better or vvorſe, or transformed into another ſpecies or ſimilitude, by man, or devill. […] Martinus [i.e., Martin] Delrio the Jeſuit accounts this degeneration of Man into a Beaſt to be an illuſion, deceptive and repugnant to Nature; for, the ſoule of man cannot informe a beaſts body, […]

[…] at the opening of the campaign, the French, after various deceptive attempts on different places, suddenly invested Tournay.

[…] it is characteristic of TB that many of its symptoms are deceptive—liveliness that comes from enervation, rosy cheeks that look like a sign of health but come from fever—and an upsurge of vitality may be a sign of approaching death.

Synonyms for deceptive

Antonyms for deceptive

Related Words

Word Forms

• more deceptive
• most deceptive

Usage Notes

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