- deceptive
- adjective
Date: circa 1611
tending or having power to deceive ; misleading <a deceptive appearance> • deceptively adverb • deceptiveness noun
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
deceptive
Look at other dictionaries:
deceptive — de·cep·tive /di sep tiv/ adj: tending or having capacity to deceive deceptive trade practices compare fraudulent, misleading Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 … Law dictionary
Deceptive — De*cep tive, a. [Cf. F. d[ e]ceptif. See {Deceive}.] Tending to deceive; having power to mislead, or impress with false opinions; as, a deceptive countenance or appearance. [1913 Webster] Language altogether deceptive, and hiding the deeper… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
deceptive — 1610s, from Fr. deceptif (late 14c.), from M.L. deceptivus, from decept , pp. stem of L. decipere (see DECEIVE (Cf. deceive)). Earlier in this sense was deceptious (c.1600), from Fr. deceptieux, from M.L. deceptiosus, from deceptionem. Related:… … Etymology dictionary
deceptive — *misleading, delusory, delusive Analogous words: specious, *plausible, colorable: *false, wrong Contrasted words: genuine, *authentic, veritable, bona fide: true, *real, actual … New Dictionary of Synonyms
deceptive — [adj] dishonest ambiguous, astucious, beguiling, bum*, catchy, crafty, cunning, deceitful, deceiving, deluding, delusive, delusory, designing, disingenuous, fake, fallacious, false, fishy, foxy, fraudulent, illusory, imposturous, indirect,… … New thesaurus
deceptive — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ giving an impression different from the true one … English terms dictionary
deceptive — [dē sep′tiv, disep′tiv] adj. [Fr déceptif < LL deceptivus: see DECEIVE & IVE] deceiving or intended to deceive deceptively adv. deceptiveness n … English World dictionary
deceptive — de|cep|tive [dıˈseptıv] adj 1.) something that is deceptive seems to be one thing but is in fact very different ▪ Some snakes move with deceptive speed (=move faster than you think or expect) . ▪ Gwen s students may look angelic, but appearances… … Dictionary of contemporary English
deceptive — adj. VERBS ▪ be ADVERB ▪ highly, very ▪ dangerously PHRASES ▪ can be deceptive … Collocations dictionary
deceptive — UK [dɪˈseptɪv] / US adjective 1) something that is deceptive seems very different from the way it really is appearances can be deceptive: The hotel looked nice but appearances can be deceptive. 2) trying to trick someone by telling them something … English dictionary
deceptive — [dɪˈseptɪv] adj 1) if something is deceptive, it seems very different from the way it really is a deceptive calmness in his voice[/ex] 2) if someone is being deceptive, they trick other people by telling them something that is not true deceptive… … Dictionary for writing and speaking English
