DECEPTIVE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for DECEPTIVE?

Need another word that means the same as “deceptive”? Find 35 synonyms and 30 related words for “deceptive” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Deceptive” are: delusory, misleading, illusory, illusive, illusionary, ambiguous, delusive, distorted, specious, deceitful, duplicitous, fraudulent, counterfeit, sham, bogus, cheating, underhand, cunning, crafty, sly, guileful, scheming, perfidious, treacherous, machiavellian, disingenuous, untrustworthy, unscrupulous, unprincipled, dishonest, untruthful, lying, mendacious, insincere, false

Deceptive as an Adjective

Definitions of "Deceptive" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “deceptive” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.
• Causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true.
• Designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently.

Synonyms of "Deceptive" as an adjective (35 Words)

ambiguous	Not clear or decided. The election result was ambiguous.
bogus	Fraudulent; having a misleading appearance. A bogus insurance claim.
cheating	Not faithful to a spouse or lover.
counterfeit	Pretended; sham. Counterfeit emotion.
crafty	Skilled at the making of decorative objects and other things by hand. They are looking for crafty people to join the group to make ornaments.
cunning	Showing inventiveness and skill. The cunning maneuvers leading to his success.
deceitful	Intended to deceive – S.T.Coleridge. Such an act would have been deceitful and irresponsible.
delusive	Giving a false or misleading impression. Delusive expectations.
delusory	Causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true. A delusory pleasure.
dishonest	Intended to mislead or cheat. He was a dishonest hypocrite prepared to exploit his family.
disingenuous	Not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness. A disingenuous excuse.
distorted	Affected by electrical distortion. His poor distorted limbs.
duplicitous	Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another. A duplicitous philanderer.
false	Used in names of plants animals and gems that superficially resemble the thing properly so called e g false oat. A false assumption.
fraudulent	Obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception. Fraudulent share dealing.
guileful	Marked by skill in deception. A supremely guileful and deceptive politician.
illusionary	Marked by or producing illusion. Illusionary stage effects.
illusive	Deceptive; illusory. An illusive haven.
illusory	Based on illusion; not real. Secret activities offer presidents the alluring but often illusory promise that they can achieve foreign policy goals without the bothersome debate and open decision that are staples of democracy.
insincere	Lacking sincerity. She flashed him an insincere smile.
lying	Not telling the truth. He s a lying cheating snake in the grass.
machiavellian	Of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended.
mendacious	Given to lying. A mendacious child.
misleading	Giving the wrong idea or impression. Statistics can be presented in ways that are misleading.
perfidious	Deceitful and untrustworthy. The perfidious Judas.
scheming	Given to or involved in making secret and underhand plans. A scheming wife.
sham	Bogus; false. Sham modesty.
sly	Marked by skill in deception. A sly sip of water.
specious	Superficially plausible, but actually wrong. A specious argument.
treacherous	Tending to betray especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans. Memory is particularly treacherous.
underhand	With the palm of the hand upward or outward. Underhand dealings.
unprincipled	Lacking principles or moral scruples. An unprincipled womanizer.
unscrupulous	Having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair. Unscrupulous landlords might be tempted to harass existing tenants.
untrustworthy	Not able to be relied on as honest or truthful. These untrustworthy impressions were instinctive.
untruthful	Saying or consisting of something that is false or incorrect. An untruthful person.

Usage Examples of "Deceptive" as an adjective

• The deceptive calm in the eye of the storm.
• Deliberately deceptive packaging.
• Deceptive calm.
• He put the question with deceptive casualness.

Associations of "Deceptive" (30 Words)

beguile	Trick (someone) into doing something. They were beguiled into signing a peace treaty.
cheat	An act of cheating a fraud or deception. I wish someone had told me my partner was cheating on me.
cheating	Not faithful to a spouse or lover.
chicanery	The use of deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose. Storylines packed with political chicanery.
cozen	Obtain by deception. He cozened the money out of the old man.
cunning	Attractive or quaint. A cunning look came into his eyes.
deceit	The quality of being fraudulent. A series of lies and deceits.
deceitful	Intended to deceive. Deceitful advertising.
deceive	Be false to; be dishonest with. I didn t intend to deceive people into thinking it was French champagne.
deception	A thing that deceives. A range of elaborate deceptions.
delusive	Giving a false or misleading impression. Delusive expectations.
dishonest	Behaving or prone to behave in an untrustworthy, deceitful, or insincere way. Dishonest politicians.
dissimulation	Concealment of one’s thoughts, feelings, or character; pretence. An attempt at dissimulation.
fraud	A person who makes deceitful pretenses. Prosecutions for social security frauds.
fraudulence	Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage.
fraudulent	Obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception. Fraudulent psychics.
hoax	Subject to a playful hoax or joke. A hoax 999 call.
humbug	Pretentious or silly talk or writing. His comments are sheer humbug.
imposture	Pretending to be another person. I discovered the imposture as soon as her doppelganger arrived.
inducement	Act of bringing about a desired result. Inducement of sleep.
lie	The way direction or position in which something lies. Putting homeless families into private houses that would otherwise lie empty.
lure	Something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed. The lure of the exotic East.
motivator	A positive motivational influence. Music can be a great exercise motivator.
mountebank	A person who sold patent medicines in public places.
phony	A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives.
scam	A dishonest scheme; a fraud. A guy that scams old pensioners out of their savings.
swindle	Obtain (money) fraudulently. He was said to have swindled 62 5 million from the state owned cement industry.
treacherous	Tending to betray especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans. Treacherous intrigues.
trickery	Verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way. The dealer resorted to trickery.
untruth	A lie or false statement (often used euphemistically. They go off and tell untruths about organizations for which they worked.