Word Meanings - DECEIVE - Book Publishers vocabulary database

deceive; de- + capere to take, catch. See Capable, and cf. Deceit, 1. To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare. Evil

Additional info about word: DECEIVE

deceive; de- + capere to take, catch. See Capable, and cf. Deceit, 1. To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2 Tim. iii. 13. Nimble jugglers that deceive the eye. Shak. What can 'scape the eye Of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart Milton. 2. To beguile; to amuse, so as to divert the attention; to while away; to take away as if by deception. These occupations oftentimes deceived The listless hour. Wordsworth. 3. To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud. Plant fruit trees in large borders, and set therein fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive the trees. Bacon. Syn. -- Deceive, Delude, Mislead. Deceive is a general word applicable to any kind of misrepresentation affecting faith or life. To delude, primarily, is to make sport of, by deceiving, and is accomplished by playing upon one's imagination or credulity, as by exciting false hopes, causing him to undertake or expect what is impracticable, and making his failure ridiculous. It implies some infirmity of judgment in the victim, and intention to deceive in the deluder. But it is often used reflexively, indicating that a person's own weakness has made him the sport of others or of fortune; as, he deluded himself with a belief that luck would always favor him. To mislead is to lead, guide, or direct in a wrong way, either willfully or ignorantly.

Possible synonyms: (Same meaning words of DECEIVE)

• Befool
• Deceive
• cheat
• mystify
• bamboozle
• ensnare
• hoodwink
• mislead
• Betray
• delude
• dupe
• circumvent
• dishonor
• manifest
• indicate
• reveal
• Cheat Overreach
• fleece
• silence
• trick
• gull
• cozen
• juggle
• defraud
• swindle
• beguile
• deceive
• deprive
• prevaricate
• dissemble
• shuffle
• inveigle
• Cozen
• Circumvent
• wheedle
• overreach
• coax
• seduce
• Disappoint
• frustrate
• baffle
• vex
• mortify
• defeat
• foil

Possible antonyms: (opposite words of DECEIVE)

• Enlighten
• guide
• remunerate
• compensate
• undeceive
• disabuse
• Secure
• promote
• insure
• speed
• advance
• establish
• aid

Related words: (words related to DECEIVE)

• SPECTACLE
  An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in a light frame, and worn to assist sight, to obviate some defect in the organs of vision, or to shield the eyes from bright light. 4. pl. (more info) 1. Something exhibited to view; usually,
• SPERMATOCYTE
  See SPERMOBLAST
• SPECIFICNESS
  The quality or state of being specific.
• SPERMATIC
  Of or pertaining to semen; as, the spermatic fluid, the spermatic vessels, etc. Spermatic cord , the cord which suspends the testicle within the scrotum. It is made up of a connective tissue sheath inclosing the spermatic duct and accompanying
• SPERMATICAL
  Spermatic.
• DEPRIVEMENT
  Deprivation.
• SPECTROGRAPH
  An apparatus for photographing or mapping a spectrum. A photograph or picture of a spectrum. -- Spec`tro*graph"ic , a. --Spec`tro*graph"ic*al*ly , adv. --Spec*trog"ra*phy , n.
• COZENAGE
  The art or practice of cozening; artifice; fraud. Shak.
• SEDUCEMENT
  1. The act of seducing. 2. The means employed to seduce, as flattery, promises, deception, etc.; arts of enticing or corrupting. Pope.
• SPECTATORSHIP
  1. The office or quality of a spectator. Addison. 2. The act of beholding. Shak.
• SPECE
  Species; kind. Chaucer.
• BAFFLE
  1. To practice deceit. Barrow. 2. To struggle against in vain; as, a ship baffles with the winds.
• CIRCUMVENTOR
  One who circumvents; one who gains his purpose by cunning.
• SPEECHLESS
  1. Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech. 2. Not speaking for a time; dumb; mute; silent. Speechless with wonder, and half dead with fear. Addison. -- Speech"less*ly, adv. -- Speech"less*ness, n.
• SPENDTHRIFT
  One who spends money profusely or improvidently; a prodigal; one who lavishes or wastes his estate. Also used figuratively. A woman who was a generous spendthrift of life. Mrs. R. H. Davis.
• SPEED COUNTER
  A device for automatically counting the revolutions or pulsations of an engine or other machine; -- called also simply counter.
• SPENCE
  despendre to spend, distribute, L. dispendere, dispensum. See 1. A place where provisions are kept; a buttery; a larder; a pantry. Chiefly Brit. dial. In . . . his spence, or "pantry" were hung the carcasses of a sheep or ewe, and two cows lately
• SPERMATOZOOID
  A spermatozoid.
• SPERGE
  A charge of wash for the still. Knight.
• SPERMOPHYTE
  Any plant which produces true seeds; -- a term recently proposed to replace phænogam.
• ASPER
  Rough; rugged; harsh; bitter; stern; fierce. "An asper sound." Bacon.
• ANGIOMONOSPERMOUS
  Producing one seed only in a seed pod.
• DISPENSE
  1. To deal out in portions; to distribute; to give; as, the steward dispenses provisions according directions; Nature dispenses her bounties; to dispense medicines. He is delighted to dispense a share of it to all the company. Sir W. Scott. 2.
• MISPENSE
  See HALL
• OOSPERM; OOESPERM
  The ovum, after fusion with the spermatozoön in impregnation. Balfour.
• INDISPENSABLENESS
  The state or quality of being indispensable, or absolutely necessary. S. Clarke.
• SUSPENSORY
  Of or pertaining to a suspensorium. (more info) 1. Suspended; hanging; depending. 2. Fitted or serving to suspend; suspending; as, a suspensory muscle. Ray.
• DISPERSION
  The separation of light into its different colored rays, arising from their different refrangibilities. Dispersion of the optic axes , the separation of the optic axes in biaxial crystals, due to the fact that the axial angle has different values
• JASPERATED
  mixed with jasper; containing particles of jasper; as, jasperated agate.
• DISRESPECTABILITY
  Want of respectability. Thackeray.
• CIRCUMSPECTNESS
  Vigilance un guarding against evil from every quarter; caution. forces circumspectness on those abroad, who at home are nursed in security. Sir H. Wotton.
• DISPENSABLE
  1. Capable of being dispensed or administered. 2. Capable of being dispensed with. Coleridge.