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v. de·ceived, de·ceiv·ing, de·ceives v.tr. 1. To cause to believe what is not true; mislead. 2. Archaic To catch by guile; ensnare. v.intr. 1. To practice deceit. 2. To give a false impression: appearances can deceive. [Middle English deceiven, from Old French deceveir, from Vulgar Latin *dēcipēre, from Latin dēcipere, to ensnare, deceive : dē-, de- + capere, to seize; see kap- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] de·ceiva·ble adj. de·ceiver n. de·ceiving·ly adv. Synonyms: deceive, mislead, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle These verbs mean to cause someone to believe something untrue, usually with an ulterior motive in mind. Deceive, the most general, stresses the deliberate misrepresentation of what one knows to be true: "We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know, because they have never deceived us" (Samuel Johnson). To mislead is to direct toward a wrong conclusion, as by the use of half-truths or obfuscation; it is often but not always intentional: "Writing for young people may tempt authors to oversimplify technical information, which may mislead or confuse the reader" (Margaret Bush). Delude can imply a deception so thorough as to foster belief that is not merely misplaced but often irrational; it may also imply a strong dose of wishful thinking: "I knew, suddenly, in a thunderbolt of awareness, that I had been deluding myself for years, and had madly fancied myself a writer, when I was nothing of the sort" (Margaret Drabble). To dupe is to play upon another's susceptibilities or naiveté: The shoppers were duped by false advertising. Hoodwink and the informal bamboozle refer to deception by hoaxing, trickery, or artful persuasion: "Worst of all ... the orchestra manager ... has somehow hoodwinked me with his courtly southern manner into signing another multiyear contract" (Arnold Steinhardt)."Perhaps if I wanted to be understood or to understand I would bamboozle myself into belief, but I am a reporter" (Graham Greene). |
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