deceitful

adjective

de·​ceit·​ful di-ˈsēt-fəl 

: having a tendency or disposition to deceive or give false impressions:

a

: not honest

a deceitful person

b

: deceptive, misleading

deceitful advertising

deceitfully

di-ˈsēt-fə-lē 

adverb

deceitfulness noun

Synonyms

• fraudulent
• dishonest
• deceptive
• false

Choose the Right Synonym for deceitful

dishonest, deceitful, mendacious, untruthful mean unworthy of trust or belief.

dishonest implies a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, or defraud.

a swindle usually involves two dishonest people

deceitful usually implies an intent to mislead and commonly suggests a false appearance or double-dealing.

the secret affairs of a deceitful spouse

mendacious may suggest bland or even harmlessly mischievous deceit and when used of people often suggests a habit of telling untruths.

mendacious tales of adventure

untruthful stresses a discrepancy between what is said and fact or reality.

an untruthful account of their actions

Examples of deceitful in a Sentence

charged the store owner with such deceitful practices as inflating the list prices for items only so he could put them on sale at drastically reduced prices

the deceitful salesman neglected to mention some important information about the used car

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 1995 movie Waiting to Exhale, a heartbroken, fed up Bernadine Harris (played by Angela Bassett) gets revenge on her deceitful husband and releases her pain by piling his wardrobe into the back of his luxury car before dousing it all in lighter fluid and setting it ablaze. —Dave Quinn, People.com, 23 June 2025

Francis Fox, pedophile, is a smug, deceitful middle school English teacher, practiced in the art of seduction and the rewards and punishment psychology of B.F. Skinner. —Heather Scott Partington, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025

The defense has painted a picture of a deceitful web of people in O’Keefe’s social network who saw Read as a scapegoat for his death. —Michael Casey, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025

These reactions mirror talking points found in the online manosphere, the network of forums, podcasts, and content creators who frame women, especially Black women, as manipulative and deceitful. —Susan Akyeampong, Refinery29, 16 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

see deceit

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

deceitful

adjective

de·​ceit·​ful di-ˈsēt-fəl 

1

: practicing or tending to practice trickery

2

: showing or containing deceit or fraud : deceptive

a deceitful answer

deceitfully

-fə-lē 

adverb

deceitfulness

-fəl-nəs

noun