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
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At the same time, the podcast acknowledges that outward appearances can be misleading.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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Experts warn that by the time others leave reviews or complain about the misleading claims, the sites often go offline or move on to selling another product.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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The plaintiffs in the California suit claim they were misled by deceptive labeling when purchasing the product more than a dozen times in California stores.—
Itzel Luna,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
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Patel’s complaint against FanDuel includes claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conspiracy, and deceptive and unfair trade practices.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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The question of true or false became a sensation in 1967 with the famous film shot by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin in the Pacific Northwest, capturing a hairy figure ambling through a Northern California wood.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
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But with few details to go on, the question is whether this moment marks a genuine breakthrough, or just another false dawn.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusive. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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