deceptive

play

adjective de·cep·tive \ di-ˈsep-tiv \

Definition of deceptive

:tending or having power to cause someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid :tending or having power to deceive

a deceptive appearance

a pitcher with a deceptive windup

—

deceptively

adverb

—

deceptiveness

noun

See deceptive defined for English-language learners

See deceptive defined for kids

Examples of deceptive in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of deceptive from the Web

Many of the lawsuits accuse the companies of using deceptive marketing practices to downplay the risk of addiction in their products.

— michelle theriault boots, Alaska Dispatch News, "Alaska hires Outside law firm to investigate potential opioid lawsuit," 30 Aug. 2017
Its size is deceptive, and its shape pays big dividends in convenience.

— larry printz, Detroit Free Press, "2017 Chevrolet Bolt more functional than fetching, but that's OK," 16 Aug. 2017
The Chinese Communists had also morphed into a new beast — more adaptive, cunning, and deceptive.

— jianli yang, National Review, "Liu Xiaobo’s Stern Warning," 15 Aug. 2017
But what has gone unreported until now is how duplicitous, evasive, and outright deceptive Judge Bush was in defending the statements to the Senate, as revealed in the official record of his answers to questions senators posed to him.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Oh, Look. Trump's New Judge Compared Abortion to Slavery.," 20 July 2017
Moments later, Duffy would pick off Gomez with a deceptive move, recording the 24th pickoff of his career.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Royals waste gem from Danny Duffy, lose 12th straight to the Rangers," 15 July 2017
Another example makes a similar claim in that guys who wear Vans Old Skools are deceptive and disingenuous when courting potential partners.

— jake woolf, GQ, "Meet the Ankles That Keep Getting Roasted on Twitter," 10 July 2017
April is not hurricane season, of course, and this storm, with deceptive straight-line winds, didn’t take that shape.

— brian schutmaat, Smithsonian, "Racing the Storm: The Story of the Mobile Bay Sailing Disaster," 29 June 2017
O’Keefe’s undercover videos have been widely criticized for their deceptive editing and taking comments out of context in an attempt to promote a conservative agenda.

— rob tornoe, Philly.com, "CNN defends producer seen in video criticizing network's Trump coverage," 27 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of deceptive

see deception

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1611

See Words from the same year

deceptive Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward

Near Antonyms

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

DECEPTIVE Defined for English Language Learners

deceptive

play

adjective

Definition of deceptive for English Language Learners

: intended to make someone believe something that is not true
: likely to make someone believe something that is not true

DECEPTIVE Defined for Kids

deceptive

play

adjective de·cep·tive \ di-ˈsep-tiv \

Definition of deceptive for Students

:tending or able to deceive

deceptive advertisements

—

deceptively

adverb

Law Dictionary

deceptive

play

adjective de·cep·tive \ di-ˈsep-tiv \

legal Definition of deceptive

:tending or having capacity to deceive

deceptive trade practices

— compare fraudulent, misleading

Learn More about deceptive

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

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up deceptive? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

deceptive

Definition of deceptive

deceptively

deceptiveness

From the M-W Editors

Examples of deceptive in a Sentence

Recent Examples of deceptive from the Web

Origin and Etymology of deceptive

deceptive Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Phrases Related to DECEPTIVE

Related Phrases

DECEPTIVE Defined for English Language Learners

deceptive

Definition of deceptive for English Language Learners

DECEPTIVE Defined for Kids

deceptive

Definition of deceptive for Students

deceptively

Law Dictionary

deceptive

legal Definition of deceptive

Learn More about deceptive

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066