Synonyms of deceiving

deceiving 1 of 2

adjective

as in misleading

tending or having power to deceive

the deceiving nature of most flat maps of the globe causes some people to believe erroneously that Greenland is actually bigger than South America

Synonyms & Similar Words

• misleading
• deceptive
• false
• deceitful
• incorrect
• specious
• beguiling
• fallacious
• delusive
• deluding
• ambiguous
• delusory
• inaccurate
• trick
• fraudulent
• subtle
• lying
• crooked
• cunning
• distracting
• shifty
• slick
• wily
• dishonest
• treacherous
• sneaky
• tricky
• perplexing
• crafty
• confounding
• wrong
• duplicitous
• untrustworthy
• puzzling
• underhanded
• subtile
• artful
• devious
• counterfeit
• sly
• foxy
• mendacious
• untruthful
• shady
• faithless
• forged
• underhand
• fake
• insidious
• defrauding
• artificial
• perfidious
• dissembling
• trickish
• guileful
• evasive
• bewildering
• feigned
• hypocritical
• bogus
• sham
• sneaking
• phony
• insincere
• spurious
• knavish
• ambidextrous
• jive
• double-dealing
• equivocal
• backhanded
• fast
• circuitous
• two-faced
• left-handed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightforward
• plain
• open
• direct
• forthright
• straight
• aboveboard
• frank
• illuminating
• candid
• nondeceptive
• outspoken
• revealing
• explanatory
• clarifying
• plainspoken
• truthful
• revelatory
• honest
• openhearted
• trustworthy
• free-spoken
• foursquare
• elucidative

deceiving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deceive

as in tricking

to cause to believe what is untrue

he went to great lengths to deceive his family about the nature of his new job at the mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tricking
• fooling
• misleading
• teasing
• misguiding
• deluding
• misinforming
• kidding
• duping
• conning
• suckering
• hoodwinking
• gulling
• bamboozling
• cheating
• hoaxing
• bluffing
• beguiling
• cozening
• catching
• juggling
• stinging
• snookering
• spoofing
• humbugging
• snowing
• sucking in
• having
• burning
• gaffing
• taking in
• stringing along
• gammoning
• faking out
• having on
• buffaloing
• hornswoggling
• defrauding
• pulling one's leg
• doing a number on
• swindling
• leading one down the garden path
• pulling the wool over one's eyes
• sticking
• fleecing
• shortchanging
• bleeding
• putting on
• mulcting
• rooking
• hustling
• chiseling
• squeezing
• diddling
• flimflamming
• euchring
• skinning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• revealing
• exposing
• uncovering
• disclosing
• undeceiving
• unmasking
• telling
• debunking
• divulging
• showing up
• unveiling
• disillusioning
• disabusing
• uncloaking
• disenchanting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deceiving

Adjective

In our experience, these mid-sized sets can be very deceiving. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025

Few things in life are more deceiving than a Week 1 game, especially those played in a rainstorm on the other side of an ocean. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025

Verb

The first rule of thumb—and a solid piece of advice to live by—is that looks can be deceiving. — Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 1 Nov. 2026

But looks are deceiving in this case – just like the 3X Plus and 3X before it, the trailer stretches out via three individual telescopic segments that emerge at the push of a button. — New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026

Facebook’s lawyers argued that the state failed to prove whether people were actually harmed by these deceiving statements. — Mikella Schuettler, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026

That’s why a new band bleeding the edges of garage, punk, Americana, and indie rock is deceiving when old heads who’ve remained involved since the aughts remember Hollywell strictly from his crusty folk-punk days before smartphones and social media. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026

New Mexico sued Facebook in 2021, accusing it of mishandling state residents’ personal information and deceiving those users about its policies in connection with the incident. — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

The earnings report came hours after a New Mexico state judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company liable last month for deceiving users about Facebook‘s data privacy and content moderation policies. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

During the trial, the state accused Facebook of deceiving its users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that obtained data from about 87 million Facebook profiles. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Looking at wins and losses is useful and necessary, but often deceiving as to which team is better. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2026