deceive
B2Formal to neutral. Common in written and spoken English, including legal, journalistic, and everyday contexts.
Definition
Meaning
To cause someone to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage.
To mislead or trick someone through deliberate concealment or misrepresentation of the truth. It can also refer to self-deception (deceiving oneself) or to something that gives a false impression (e.g., appearances can deceive).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Implies intentionality and often a breach of trust. Stronger than 'mislead' and often involves a sustained falsehood. The object is usually the person deceived.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Spelling and pronunciation follow standard UK/US patterns.
Connotations
Equally strong negative connotation in both varieties.
Frequency
Similar frequency in both corpora. Slightly more common in formal/legal contexts in both regions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
deceive somebodydeceive somebody into doing somethingdeceive somebody about somethingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “You can't fool all of the people all of the time.”
- “Appearances can be deceptive.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The company was accused of deceiving investors about its financial health.
Academic
The study examines how propaganda deceives populations during wartime.
Everyday
Don't try to deceive me; I know the truth.
Technical
The camouflage is designed to deceive enemy surveillance systems.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- He felt ashamed for having deceived his colleagues.
- The brochure should not deceive customers about the holiday costs.
American English
- She realized she had been deceived by the contractor.
- The ads are designed to deceive consumers.
adverb
British English
- The path looked deceptively easy.
- He smiled deceptively.
American English
- The hill is deceptively steep.
- The product was deceptively advertised.
adjective
British English
- His manner was deceptively calm.
- The door had a deceptive simplicity.
American English
- The trail is deceptively difficult.
- She gave a deceptive answer.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- It is wrong to deceive people.
- Children sometimes try to deceive their parents.
- The salesman deceived us about the car's history.
- I hope you're not trying to deceive me.
- The government was accused of deliberately deceiving the electorate.
- She realised she had been deceived into signing the contract.
- The artist's work deceives the eye, creating an illusion of depth.
- He possessed a genius for deceiving his opponents without ever telling an outright lie.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'deceive' as 'deceive' contains 'ceive' like 'receive' – but instead of receiving the truth, you receive a lie.
Conceptual Metaphor
DECEPTION IS A COVERING (to pull the wool over someone's eyes), DECEPTION IS A TRAP (to be taken in).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'disappoint' (разочаровывать).
- The Russian 'обманывать' is a direct equivalent, but 'deceive' is often more formal.
- Be careful with the false friend 'deception' (обман), not 'восприятие'.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: He deceived to me. Correct: He deceived me.
- Incorrect: She was deceived that he was rich. Correct: She was deceived into believing he was rich.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to 'deceive'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The main noun forms are 'deception' (the act) and 'deceit' (the quality of being deceitful).
It is a regular verb. Past tense and past participle: deceived.
Rarely. It is almost always a transitive verb requiring an object (the person deceived). The reflexive 'deceive oneself' is common.
'Lie' refers specifically to stating a falsehood. 'Deceive' is broader; it is the successful result of lying, tricking, or misleading someone.