delude

verb de·lude \ di-ˈlüd , dē- \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

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Examples: delude in a Sentence

Definition of delude

deluded; deluding

transitive verb

1 : to mislead the mind or judgment of : deceive, trick

… people he regards as deluded by the romantic idea that children somehow possess innate knowledge …
—Andrew Delbanco

… Hamilton apparently deluded himself, as the first Treasury secretary, into thinking his policies patriotic when their effect, Mr. Phillips says, was to put money into silken purses.
—Michael Knox Beran

2 obsolete

a : frustrate, disappoint

b : evade, elude

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deluder

noun

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Examples of delude in a Sentence

we deluded ourselves into thinking that the ice cream wouldn't affect our diet

Recent Examples of delude from the Web

Using the argument of art’s truth as a bludgeon, Annie dismisses her son’s feelings, offering an even harsher version of the neglect on display by the self-servingly deluded poet-mother in Augusten Burroughs’s memoir Running With Scissors.

— katherine fusco, The Atlantic, "Hereditary and the Monstrousness of Creative Moms," 11 July 2018
The message O’Connor sent with the benchings on Saturday night was, in essence, telling the players to stop deluding themselves into thinking the nine-match losing streak was some fluky happenstance of bad breaks, bad officiating and bad coaching.

— mike bianchi, Pro Soccer USA, "James O’Connor is finally forcing Orlando City’s players to look in the mirror," 14 July 2018
The film feels no need to convince us Graves isn't deluded, but anyone curious enough to do a bit of research will find accredited Western-medicine physicians who take him seriously.

— john defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Milford Graves: Full Mantis': Film Review," 11 July 2018
For years, doubters and scoffers have derided as romantic or deluded the folks who fought for Detroit’s future.

— john gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit train station is city's biggest comeback moment yet," 15 June 2018
Both the original settlers and those who, over the subsequent centuries, have quixotically tried to trace them seem equally deluded.

— The Economist, "The tale of the “Lost Colony” is a chronicle of delusion," 7 June 2018
The scandal was both a huge story and quickly faded from the public consciousness, almost like sports fans want to delude themselves into thinking that everything is always on the up and up.

— chris chase, For The Win, "11 biggest scandals in sports gambling history," 16 May 2018
As for Eleanor, Patrick’s mother (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), the novels depict her, unforgivingly, as a monster of neglect and deluded self-pity.

— New York Times, "Benedict Cumberbatch Just Crossed the Last Role Off His Bucket List," 3 May 2018
And some, like Schneiderman, have deluded themselves into thinking this is all totally OK.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Eric Schneiderman is the latest male politician to totally disappoint us," 8 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of delude

Middle English, from Latin deludere, from de- + ludere to play — more at ludicrous

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

delude Synonyms

Phrases

do a number on, lead one down the garden path (also lead one up the garden path), pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes;

Synonym Discussion of delude

deceive, mislead, delude, beguile mean to lead astray or frustrate usually by underhandedness. deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness.