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
-
There is no indication that the misleading edit was politically motivated.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Even if its 46 shots Sunday were a bit misleading, with many coming from manageable angles, that kind of volume isn’t possible without controlling possession.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on Tuesday, brings claims for deceptive practices and false advertising, among others.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
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The complaints allow the public to report unfair or deceptive business practices, according to the agency’s website, and can prompt investigations from the office.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The title-winning standard has been lower in recent years; City won it with 86, 93, 89 and 91 points between 2020-21 and 2023-24 and Liverpool with 84 points last season, but some of those totals give a false impression.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
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The month prior, she was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for using marijuana while owning a firearm and making false statements about drug use, per the newspaper.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Delusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusive. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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