deceitful

adjective de·ceit·ful \ -fəl \

Definition of deceitful

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

a :not honest

a deceitful child

left her deceitful husband

b :deceptive, misleading

deceitful advertising

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deceitfully

play \-fə-lē\ adverb

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deceitfulness

noun

See deceitful defined for English-language learners

See deceitful defined for kids

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 of deceitful from the Web

Check out the deceitful way this franchise, including Luck, has handled this injury.

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: Pretty sure Chuck Pagano is lying about Andrew Luck," 28 Aug. 2017
Since most of the dealers advertise at MSRP but then charge more during the transaction, this is a legal (albeit entirely deceitful) method to attract potential customers.

— clifford atiyeh, Car and Driver, "Honda Dealers Are More Evil Than We Knew: Type R Markups Are Hidden," 12 July 2017
Zeus punished Sisyphus for being self-aggrandizing and deceitful.

— mario nicolais, The Denver Post, "Trump vs. Trump," 16 June 2017
Shame on all of them, especially Thurmond, a former school board member in West Contra Costa, home of one of the state’s most deceitful bond programs.

— barbara marshman, The Mercury News, "Editorial: Tell voters what school bonds will cost them? Scary idea, legislators find," 11 June 2017
Comey’s testimony reveals Trump as a deceitful, ignorant, and incompetent bully.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "Trump Doesn’t Care About the Country—Just Himself," 8 June 2017
And a man’s slaying being exploited by a deceitful Fox News host explains how even if Roger Ailes is swag surfing in hell and Bill O’Reilly has been relegated to podcasting, that entire establishment remains rotten to its core.

— michael arceneaux, The Root, "Sean Hannity Is a Lying, Sick Sack of Stupid," 26 May 2017
This suggests Financial Freedom was both ruthless toward borrowers and deceitful toward the FHA.

— david dayen, The Intercept, "Steve Mnuchin’s Old Company Just Settled for $89 Million for Ripping Off the Government on Dodgy Loans," 16 May 2017
One group recently claimed that the proposal would consider victims of rape and domestic violence as having a pre-existing condition, earning a full four Pinocchios from The Washington Post, the highest measurement in deceitful rhetoric.

— carlos curbelo, miamiherald, "Curbelo: I made a promise that I would fight for better healthcare for the country," 11 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deceitful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deceitful

see deceit

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First Known Use: 15th century

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deceitful Synonyms

Synonyms

crooked, fraudulent, defrauding, dishonest, double-dealing, false

Antonyms

aboveboard, honest, truthful

Related Words

beguiling, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, duplicitous, fallacious, misleading, specious; spurious

Near Antonyms

legitimate, true, valid

Synonym Discussion of 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

DECEITFUL Defined for English Language Learners

deceitful

adjective

Definition of deceitful for English Language Learners

: not honest : making or trying to make someone believe something that is not true

DECEITFUL Defined for Kids

deceitful

adjective de·ceit·ful \ di-ˈsēt-fəl \

Definition of deceitful for Students

:not honest :full of deceit

deceitful advertising

Learn More about deceitful

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for deceitful Spanish Central: Translation of deceitful Nglish: Translation of deceitful for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of deceitful for Arabic speakers

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Examples of deceitful in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of deceitful

deceitful Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Synonym Discussion of deceitful

DECEITFUL Defined for English Language Learners

deceitful

Definition of deceitful for English Language Learners

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deceitful

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