DECEIVING Synonyms: 169 Similar and Opposite Words

deceiving 1 of 2

adjective

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

deceiving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deceive

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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

Adjective

In our experience, these mid-sized sets can be very deceiving. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025 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

Paul has long accused Fauci of deceiving Americans about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 29 July 2026 The ensuing investigation ultimately revealed that Angela had framed Hadley and uncovered evidence of her long history of deceiving people to gain sympathy. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026 All the wig and makeup work put into deceiving their people isn’t needed in the first place. — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 Those figures, though, are a bit deceiving; infant and childhood mortality dragged them down dramatically. — Adam Cohen, Oklahoman, 30 June 2026 Appearance, though, can be deceiving, but luckily, this shed is still packed with smart features and a clever design that will keep all your belongings safe. — Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 29 June 2026 Here, however, the joke is that appearances can be deceiving — or to be more specific, that trying to act like a character in a movie is a reckless, unwise thing to do. — Elena Lazic, Variety, 26 June 2026 The thing is, a lot of people have a talent for deceiving the public. — Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2026 But O’Malley writes that this is deceiving. — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 9 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceiving

Adjective

Misleading updates The suit details several allegations of investors’ being given updates that ended up being misleading or false.

— Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2026
Numerous studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy, but Republican senators have recently stirred up false and misleading claims that are now spreading on social media.

— Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of misleading

Verb

Mistruths, false claims, scams, and other deceptive efforts are tricking people into thinking that a watermark removal app will do wonders, whereas the reality is that the results are at best half-mixed or aimed to cause damage.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
ClickFix works by tricking you into performing an action on your computer that stealthily downloads and installs malware.

— Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of tricking

Adjective

The company alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

— Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
And, given his high release point, deceptive delivery and deep repertoire, where batters can’t often make good contact.

— Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of deceptive

Verb

Throughout all the commotion, Romelu Lukaku acted as decoy, holding on to the ball, fooling everyone, including the TV producer, who pulled up a graphic showing his recent penalty record.

— Geir Jordet, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Speaking on Harvard Business School’s The Founder Mindset podcast, hosted by senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, the Shark Tank investor argued that anyone trying to balance a young company against the rest of their life is fooling themselves.

— Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 2026

Definition of fooling

Adjective

But to build a web of accusations based on false premises and the manipulation of reality in order to attack the Biennale and a film invited to compete is a petty and unacceptable act.

— John Bleasdale, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
China’s aircraft engineers have warned that artificial intelligence could feed false data into military intelligence, potentially distorting the design and operation of advanced weapons.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of false

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deceives

deceiving

decelerate

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“Deceiving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceiving. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of deceiving

adjective

verb

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