as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
delusive promises of high-paying jobs for low-skilled workers
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Recent Examples of delusive
This isn’t callousness or delusive optimism but, rather, a rebellion against the suffocating expectation that the elderly have foreclosed the possibility of joy.
—
Hillary Kelly, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
To separate art from its historical framework is futile, and to reject it in an effort to censor past violence is a delusive act of virtue signaling.
—WSJ, 5 July 2022
Much of formal education over the past 50 years or so, especially in the humanities, has become a delusive exercise in mass evasion of this discomfiting truth.
—Tracy Lee Simmons, National Review, 15 Oct. 2020
Many less attractive traits are also recorded: Charles could be uncommunicative and dilatory, evasive and mendacious, refractory, vindictive, obstinate, even outright wicked, though self-delusive about the motives of others.
—R.j.w. Evans, The New York Review of Books, 11 June 2020
Hillary Kelly, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
To separate art from its historical framework is futile, and to reject it in an effort to censor past violence is a delusive act of virtue signaling.
—WSJ, 5 July 2022
Much of formal education over the past 50 years or so, especially in the humanities, has become a delusive exercise in mass evasion of this discomfiting truth.
—Tracy Lee Simmons, National Review, 15 Oct. 2020
Many less attractive traits are also recorded: Charles could be uncommunicative and dilatory, evasive and mendacious, refractory, vindictive, obstinate, even outright wicked, though self-delusive about the motives of others.
—R.j.w. Evans, The New York Review of Books, 11 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delusive
Adjective
-
The lawsuit claims several pieces of the ballot summary are misleading.—
Gray Rohrer,
Miami Herald,
12 June 2026
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But even if the court finds the ballot summary is misleading, that wouldn't erase the measure from the ballot.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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The suit alleges the group, known widely as WPATH, made deceptive claims about gender-affirming care for minors and that its members profited off the claims.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
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Grand Canyon’s rim-to-river routes can be deceptive because the steepest physical test comes on the way out, after hikers have descended into hotter terrain, experts say.—
Jessica Mekles,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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According to the department, at the time of the chase, Buban had multiple outstanding arrest warrants against him, including for being a felon in possession of a firearm, taking a vehicle without consent, false impersonation and petty theft.—
Kassia Bonesteel,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
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According to Peña, a producer relayed the false information to her through an earpiece during a live broadcast.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusive. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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