Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Deceive
De-ceive′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Deceived
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Deceiving
.] 1.
To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare.
Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving
, and being deceived
. 2 Tim. iii. 13.
Nimble jugglers that
deceive
the eye. Shakespeare
What can ’scape the eye
Of God all-seeing, or
Of God all-seeing, or
deceive
his heart? Milton.
2.
To beguile; to amuse, so as to divert the attention; to while away; to take away as if by deception.
These occupations oftentimes
The listless hour.
deceived
The listless hour.
Wordsworth.
3.
To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud.
[Obs.]
Deceive is a general word applicable to any kind of misrepresentation affecting faith or life. To delude, primarily, is to make sport of, by deceiving, and is accomplished by playing upon one's imagination or credulity, as by exciting false hopes, causing him to undertake or expect what is impracticable, and making his failure ridiculous. It implies some infirmity of judgment in the victim, and intention to deceive in the deluder. But it is often used reflexively, indicating that a person's own weakness has made him the sport of others or of fortune;
as, he
. To mislead is to lead, guide, or direct in a wrong way, either willfully or ignorantly. deluded
himself with a belief that luck would always favor himWebster 1828 Edition
Deceive
DECE'IVE
,Verb.
T.