deceptively - 3 dictionary results
de⋅cep⋅tive
[di-sep-tiv] 
tɪv
–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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To deceptively
| de·cep·tive·ly (dĭ-sěp'tĭv-lē) adv. In a deceptive or deceiving manner; so as to deceive. Usage Note: When deceptively is used to modify an adjective, the meaning is often unclear. Does the sentence The pool is deceptively shallow mean that the pool is shallower or deeper than it appears? When the Usage Panel was asked to decide, 50 percent thought the pool shallower than it appears, 32 percent thought it deeper than it appears, and 18 percent said it was impossible to judge. Thus a warning notice worded in such a way would be misinterpreted by many of the people who read it, and others would be uncertain as to which sense was intended. Where the context does not make the meaning of deceptively clear, the sentence should be rewritten, as in The pool is shallower than it looks or The pool is shallow, despite its appearance. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Deceptively
De*cep"tive*ly\, adv. In a manner to deceive.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : deceptively
Spanish:
engañosamente,
German:
trügerisch,
Japanese:
いつわって
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