deceive deceive (dĭ-sēvʹ) verbdeceived, deceiving, deceivesverb, transitive1. To cause lớn believe what is not true; mislead. 2. Archaic. Lớn catch by guile; ensnare. Verb, intransitiveTo practice deceit. deceivʹable adjective deceivʹer noun deceivʹingly adverbSynonyms: deceive, betray, mislead, beguile, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, double-cross. These verbs mean to lead another into error, danger, or a disadvantageous position, for the most part by underhand means. Deceive involves the deliberate concealment or the misrepresentation of the truth: "There is a moment of difficulty and danger at which flattery & falsehood can no longer deceive" (Letters of Junius). Betray implies faithlessness or treachery: "When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself" (Isaac Bashevis Singer). Mislead means to lớn lead in the wrong direction or into error of thought or action: "My manhood, long misled by wandering fires,/Followed false lights" (John Dryden). Beguile suggests deceiving or misleading by means of pleasant or alluring methods: They beguiled unwary investors with tales of overnight fortunes. To lớn delude is lớn mislead to the point where a person is unable to tell truth from falsehood or to size sound judgments: The government deluded the public about the dangers of low-level radiation. Dupe means to delude by playing upon another"s susceptibilities or naiveté: Gullible shoppers are easily duped by unscrupulous advertisers. Hoodwink refers to deluding by trickery: It is difficult to hoodwink a smart lawyer. Bamboozle less formally means lớn delude by the use of such tactics as hoaxing, befuddling, or artful persuasion: "Perhaps if I wanted to lớn be understood or to lớn understand I would bamboozle myself into belief, but I am a reporter" (Graham Greene). Double-cross implies the betrayal of a confidence or the willful breaking of a pledge: New members of the party felt they had been double-crossed by the old guard.
