deceptive
adjective
de·cep·tive
di-ˈsep-tiv 
: 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
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 on the Web
Any ebbing of drone strikes could be deceptive, with Iran amassing them for another swarming assault.
—
Mikhail Alexseev, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026
The question is whether the largest financial transaction in most Americans’ lives will remain the one place where deceptive design goes unchecked.
—New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2026
Erin Lee Opponents, however, call the measure extreme and its language deceptive.
—Austen Erblat, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Centers' growing power Previous efforts in California, Colorado and Vermont to regulate crisis pregnancy centers arose from concerns over allegations of deceptive and misleading practices and questions about patient data privacy.
—Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, NPR, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
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Mikhail Alexseev, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026
The question is whether the largest financial transaction in most Americans’ lives will remain the one place where deceptive design goes unchecked.
—New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2026
Erin Lee Opponents, however, call the measure extreme and its language deceptive.
—Austen Erblat, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Centers' growing power Previous efforts in California, Colorado and Vermont to regulate crisis pregnancy centers arose from concerns over allegations of deceptive and misleading practices and questions about patient data privacy.
—Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, NPR, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Cite this Entry
“Deceptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deceptive. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deceptive
adjective
de·cep·tive
di-ˈsep-tiv
: tending or having power to deceive : misleading
a deceptive appearance
deceptively
adverb
deceptiveness
noun
Legal Definition
deceptive
adjective
de·cep·tive
di-ˈsep-tiv
: tending or having capacity to deceive
deceptive trade practices
compare fraudulent, misleading
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