deception

de·cep·tion | \ di-ˈsep-shən

Definition of deception

1a : the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid : the act of deceiving resorting to falsehood and deception used deception to leak the classified information

b : the fact or condition of being deceived the deception of his audience

2 : something that deceives : trick fooled by a scam artist's clever deception

Other Words from deception Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about deception

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Choose the Right Synonym for deception

deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives. deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource. magicians are masters of deception fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice. indicted for fraud double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude. a go-between suspected of double-dealing subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end. obtained the papers by subterfuge trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat. resorted to trickery to gain their ends

Examples of deception in a Sentence

She accuses the company of willful deception in its advertising. His many deceptions did not become known until years after he died.

Recent Examples on the Web Evolving from shy quiet to finger-wagging accusations, Ocasio-Cortez leaned into the deception, and the Twitch environment, strategizing out loud and issuing low Oooooohs in spicy deliberations. — Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Storms Twitch," 20 Oct. 2020 And the networks, led by Fox News, will go along with this Trumpian deception, leading to massive conspiracy theories and violent outbreaks when Biden belatedly takes the lead a few days later. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "The Overblown Alarmism About a Trump Coup," 20 Oct. 2020 The plaintiffs say that informing on fellow Muslims would require deception and violate their religious beliefs. — Jess Bravin, WSJ, "Supreme Court Weighs Monetary Damages Under Religious Freedom Law," 6 Oct. 2020 Looking back, General McMaster, who has a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sees deception. — Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Fueling US-China clash, years of disconnects," 2 Oct. 2020 One answer is that in thinking about honesty, we’ve mostly been tuned into deception. — Judi Ketteler, Scientific American, "We Need to Do More Research on Honesty," 20 Sep. 2020 In a troubling sign of the deception to come, Lori told a completely different story to JJ's school — Lauren's Institute for Education or LIFE. — Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News, "Chilling details revealed as police investigate deaths of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan," 3 Oct. 2020 Veasey said he was tipped off to the deception even before his visit. — Brian Chasnoff, ExpressNews.com, "‘Deceitful’: Postal union leader testifies that visiting U.S. congressman was duped during San Antonio post office visit," 2 Oct. 2020 The deception led to a loss of about 10 million francs ($11 million) for the bank and also hurt other clients, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. — Nicolas Parasie, Bloomberg.com, "Credit Suisse Cutting Jobs in Middle East in Wealth Management Overhaul," 29 Sep. 2020

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