as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
the deceiving nature of most flat maps of the globe causes some people to believe erroneously that Greenland is actually bigger than South America
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue
he went to great lengths to deceive his family about the nature of his new job at the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deceiving
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
Share your horror at learning that this person is deceiving family members and basically stealing from them.
—Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
The Poquianchis recruited young girls from nearby towns and farms, deceiving families with false promises of work or abducting girls when alone.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Federal prosecutors accused him of deceiving investors and lenders.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2025
After all, appearances can be deceiving.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Looks can be deceiving, Cali said.
—Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
The lexicon of the wine world can be deceiving.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Some of the stranger and more alarming AI behaviors, such as blackmailing or deceiving users, have been extensively studied by these companies as a first step toward mitigating possible harms.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Few things in life are more deceiving than a Week 1 game, especially those played in a rainstorm on the other side of an ocean.
—Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
The honeymoon phase can be deceiving.
—Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
Share your horror at learning that this person is deceiving family members and basically stealing from them.
—Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
The Poquianchis recruited young girls from nearby towns and farms, deceiving families with false promises of work or abducting girls when alone.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Federal prosecutors accused him of deceiving investors and lenders.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2025
After all, appearances can be deceiving.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Looks can be deceiving, Cali said.
—Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
The lexicon of the wine world can be deceiving.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Some of the stranger and more alarming AI behaviors, such as blackmailing or deceiving users, have been extensively studied by these companies as a first step toward mitigating possible harms.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceiving
Adjective
-
Trump has initiated a flurry of defamation lawsuits against media companies, accusing them of false or misleading coverage.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Hinton challenged the optimistic visions promoted by Silicon Valley leaders, suggesting that much of the upbeat narrative about AI’s societal benefits is, at best, misleading.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The perfectly still water creates a flawless mirror image of the stalactites above, tricking your eyes into seeing a vast, bottomless lake.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025
-
What does work is tricking her into pressing a button that knocks her out.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, a group of states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton separately sued Google for anticompetitive and deceptive practices in its ad business.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Katie’s denial was once again found to be deceptive.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Your press release isn’t fooling anyone.—
Roberta Matuson,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Stop fooling yourself and listen.—
Richard B. Williams,
Denver Post,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The false assurance was more than a slip.—
Eric Tucker,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigration English Defence League (EDL), was released from prison earlier this year, having been jailed for being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deceiving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceiving. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share