Nearby Words

deceptive

[dih-sep-tiv] Example Sentences Origin

de·cep·tive

[dih-sep-tiv]
adjective
1.
apt or tending to deceive: The enemy's peaceful overtures may be deceptive.
2.
perceptually misleading: It looks like a curved line, but it's deceptive.

Origin:
1605–15; < Medieval Latin dēceptīvus, equivalent to Latin dēcept(us) (see deception) + -īvus -ive

de·cep·tive·ly, adverb
de·cep·tive·ness, noun
non·de·cep·tive, adjective
non·de·cep·tive·ly, adverb
non·de·cep·tive·ness, noun
EXPAND
un·de·cep·tive, adjective
un·de·cep·tive·ly, adverb
un·de·cep·tive·ness, noun
COLLAPSE


1. delusive, fallacious, specious.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Deceptive is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Example Sentences
  • From the beginning, deceptive research yielded rich scientific rewards.
  • English presents their biggest problem, and the problem is deceptive.
  • But appearances and rhetoric may be a little deceptive.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
deceptive (dɪˈsɛptɪv)
 
adj
1.  likely or designed to deceive; misleading: appearances can be deceptive
2.  music (of a cadence) another word for interrupted
 
de'ceptively
 
adv
 
de'ceptiveness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

deceptive
1610s, from Fr. deceptif (late 14c.), from M.L. deceptivus, from decept-, pp. stem of L. decipere (see deceive). Earlier in this sense was deceptious (c.1600), from Fr. deceptieux, from M.L. deceptiosus, from deceptionem. Related: Deceptively (1825).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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