deceive
[verb]
Synonyms: take in (informal), cheat, con (informal), dupe, fool, hoodwink, mislead, swindle, trick

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Antonyms: undeceive, enlighten
Contrasted words: correct, disabuse, rectify, unblind, acquaint, advise, apprise, inform
Related Idioms: pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes, put something over (or across), take for a ride, take into camp, throw off the scent (or track)
Related Words: cheat, defraud, do, overreach, circumvent, outwit, bamboozle, befool, dupe, gull, hoax, hoodwink, spoof, trick, victimize, throw off

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English Thesaurus: deceive, trick, fool, mislead, dupe, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

de‧ceive /dɪˈsiːv/ verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: deceit, deceiver, deception; adjective: deceitful, deceptive; verb: deceive; adverb: deceptively]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: deceivre, from Latin decipere]

1. to make someone believe something that is not true ⇒ deception:
He had been deceived by a young man claiming to be the son of a millionaire.
deceive somebody into doing something
He tried to deceive the public into thinking the war could still be won.
deceive somebody about something
I wouldn’t deceive you about anything as important as this.

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In everyday English, people usually say trick rather than deceive:
She thought they were trying to trick her.

2. deceive yourself to refuse to believe that something is true because the truth is unpleasant:
I thought she loved me, but I was deceiving myself.
deceive yourself that
He didn’t deceive himself that he and Ruth could remain friends.

3. to give someone a wrong belief or opinion about something:
Don’t be deceived by the new cover – this is a rehash of old hits.
—deceiver noun [countable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

deceive
verb
ADV. easily Human nature is such that we easily deceive ourselves.
VERB + DECEIVE attempt to, try to
PREP. into The public should not be deceived into buying inferior goods.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

deceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true:
This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something:
A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick:
His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true:
The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it:
The spies duped government and military officials alike.
con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true:
I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲