deceptive

de·cep·tive

adjective \di-ˈsep-tiv\

Definition of DECEPTIVE

: tending or having power to deceive : misleading <a deceptive appearance>

— de·cep·tive·ly adverb

— de·cep·tive·ness noun

Examples of DECEPTIVE

1. <in his deceptive answer about the vehicle's history, the salesman said that the used car had never been hit by another car>
2. <a mail-order firm indicted for deceptive business practices>

First Known Use of DECEPTIVE

circa 1611

Related to DECEPTIVE

Synonyms

beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, misleading, specious

Antonyms

aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward

Related Words

artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, shady, shifty, slick, sly, sneaking, sneaky, subtile, subtle, trick, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded, wily; inaccurate, incorrect, wrong; bewildering, confounding, distracting, perplexing, puzzling; ambidextrous, crooked, defrauding, dishonest, dissembling, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, fast, fraudulent, knavish, lying, mendacious, untrustworthy, untruthful; bogus, counterfeit, fake, feigned, forged, jive [slang], phony (also phoney), sham, spurious; insidious, perfidious, treacherous; ambiguous, circuitous, equivocal, evasive; artificial, backhanded, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, two-faced

Near Antonyms

candid, direct, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, openhearted, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight; clarifying, elucidative, explanatory, illuminating; revealing, revelatory; honest, trustworthy, truthful