Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

deceive

/dɪˈsiːv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.38 in modern English

Syllables: de-ceive
IPA: /dɪˈsiːv/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To trick or mislead.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"It feels painful to begin seeing clearly, that you’ve been deceived by the very people and institutions you trusted to guide you."
"I know—for Death, who comes for me From regions of the blest afar, Where there is nothing to deceive, Hath left his iron gate ajar, […]"
"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.”"

Etymology

From Middle English deceyven, from Anglo-Norman deceivre, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *kap-, deceyven, deceivre, dēcipiō

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

deceives (present, singular) deceiving (participle, present) deceived (participle, past) deceived (past) deceave (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

deceivability deceivable deceivance deceiver deceivingly deceivous redeceive undeceive

Phrases

flatter to deceive self-deceive what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive rip off confidence trickster

Frequently Paired Words

deception deceptive deceit rip off forge gaslight grift deceiver

Synonyms

abuse beglammer counterfeit deceive catch trap into dissemble dissimulate feign jiff lead astray overreach

Rhymes With

believe leave we've receive steve achieve eve sleeve relieve naive perceive retrieve

Questions

How do you pronounce deceive?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈsiːv/.
What does deceive mean?: To trick or mislead.
Where does deceive come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce deceive

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “deceive”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪˈsiːv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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