1
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
in his deceptive answer about the vehicle's history, the salesman said that the used car had never been hit by another car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception
a mail-order firm indicted for deceptive business practices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deceptive
Harvey is a dynamic skater who breaks down coverage with her feet, deceptive puck skills and playmaking intuition.
—
Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
On March 24, the jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection law by knowingly engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.
—Diana Novak Jones, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
But at the same time, language seemed less deceptive then.
—Laura Brown, Artforum, 25 Mar. 2026
The lawsuit accuses the company of deceptive marketing practices.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
On March 24, the jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection law by knowingly engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.
—Diana Novak Jones, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
But at the same time, language seemed less deceptive then.
—Laura Brown, Artforum, 25 Mar. 2026
The lawsuit accuses the company of deceptive marketing practices.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceptive
Adjective
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Winds high above Saturn were generating electrical currents, creating a misleading auroral signal that mimicked changes in rotation.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
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Parts of the ballot language backing a tax on second homes in San Diego are misleading and must be amended, a judge ruled Thursday.—
Roxana Popescu,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
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Both men sold drugs to fund their fraudulent transactions, prosecutors said.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Lebohang Morake — the Grammy-winning South African composer behind the film’s opening Zulu vocals — filed a federal civil complaint in California on March 16 against the comedian, Learnmore Jonasi, alleging that the translation is false and damaging to his life’s work.—
Joe Kottke,
NBC news,
27 Mar. 2026
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Rebollo, a 58-year-old Chula Vista resident, pleaded guilty in December in San Diego federal court to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of filing a false tax return and one count related to Social Security fraud.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In addition to serving as a showrunner, Levy stars as Nicky, an openly gay pastor who gets wrapped up in a shady underworld plot with his flailing sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega).—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
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They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Asked about those allegations, Grossi said his role is to provide technical expertise, not to weigh in on whether Iran was honest or dishonest.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
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This is dishonest and partisan.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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For the most part, this lineup, chock full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers, has struggled to put up crooked numbers.—
Johnny Flores Jr,
New York Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deceptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceptive. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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