Deceive

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈsiːv/
• Rhymes: -iːv

Alternative forms

• deceave obsolete

Origin

Middle English deceyven, from Old French deceivre (Modern French décevoir), from Latin decipere ("to deceive, beguile, entrap"), from de- ("from") + capere ("to seize"); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive.

Full definition of deceive

Verb

1. To trick or mislead.
• 2012, April 26, Tasha Robinson, Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :, Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.”

Synonyms

Related terms

• deception
• deceptive
• deceit