1
as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
charged the store owner with such deceitful practices as inflating the list prices for items only so he could put them on sale at drastically reduced prices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceptive
tending or having power to deceive
the deceitful salesman neglected to mention some important information about the used car
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of deceitful
The father, Fyodor Karamazov, is a grasping, lecherous, deceitful, and shameless widower.
—
Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
The bank temporarily increased its numbers until its deceitful actions became public, leading to $185 million in fines and continuous significant expenses for rebuilding customer trust.
—Boris Kontsevoi, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Kelley allegedly sent deceitful emails to unwitting postal employees between 2019 and 2023, telling them to intercept packages that were determined to have been sent by victims of a Jamaican scam that targeted Americans.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Everybody’s playing, everybody’s being deceitful, and Matthew isn’t the worst.
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceitful
Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
The bank temporarily increased its numbers until its deceitful actions became public, leading to $185 million in fines and continuous significant expenses for rebuilding customer trust.
—Boris Kontsevoi, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Kelley allegedly sent deceitful emails to unwitting postal employees between 2019 and 2023, telling them to intercept packages that were determined to have been sent by victims of a Jamaican scam that targeted Americans.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Everybody’s playing, everybody’s being deceitful, and Matthew isn’t the worst.
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceitful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceitful
Adjective
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California has paid roughly $20 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits to scammers, about 11% of all benefits distributed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said this week.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Over a 14-year period from 2012 to 2016, hundreds of thousands of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank employees opened millions of unauthorized or fraudulent accounts and other financial products to meet excessive sales goals.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Then again, averages can be deceptive.—
Burkhard Bilger,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
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The recovered funds come from 89 separate settlements and other restitution paid back by doctors, nurses and health care systems after fraud investigations related to deceptive billing practices, pill and medication theft, and other fraud.—
Hayleigh Colombo,
IndyStar,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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More and more people are avoiding dating or befriending those with opposing political views, and growing numbers describe those on the other side as closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent.—
Justin Callais,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
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His judgments about the characters—both famous and obscure—who mattered in this low, dishonest era are always persuasive.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These false or misleading statements are characteristic of politicians with questionable integrity who are willing to say anything for political gain.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
1 Mar. 2026
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Hartsuch, a proponent of using ivermectin to treat COVID-19, alleges that in December 2021, Kent Nebel, then the executive director of the Board of Medicine, indicated that 17 Iowa doctors had complaints filed against them for spreading false or misleading information about COVID-19.—
Clark Kauffman,
Iowa Capital Dispatch,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But Republicans are worried that the popular but scandal-plagued Paxton could eventually win the primary, boosting Democrats’ chances of finally flipping the seat blue after decades of false hope.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Feb. 2026
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That same user later posted another video acknowledging police’s statement about the false rumors, which only has about 3,000 views.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deceitful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceitful. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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