deceptive

de·cep·tive

adj \di-ˈsep-tiv\

Definition of DECEPTIVE

: tending or having power to deceive : misleading <a deceptive appearance>

— de·cep·tive·ly adverb

— de·cep·tive·ness noun

Examples of DECEPTIVE

1. <in his deceptive answer about the vehicle's history, the salesman said that the used car had never been hit by another car>
2. <a mail-order firm indicted for deceptive business practices>

First Known Use of DECEPTIVE

circa 1611

Related to DECEPTIVE

Synonyms: beguiling, deceitful, deceiving, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, misleading, specious

Antonyms: aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward

Related Words: artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, shady, shifty, slick, sly, sneaking, sneaky, subtile, subtle, trick, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded, wily; inaccurate, incorrect, wrong; bewildering, confounding, distracting, perplexing, puzzling; ambidextrous, crooked, defrauding, dishonest, dissembling, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, fast, fraudulent, knavish, lying, mendacious, untrustworthy, untruthful; bogus, counterfeit, fake, feigned, forged, jive [slang], phony (also phoney), sham, spurious; insidious, perfidious, treacherous; ambiguous, circuitous, equivocal, evasive; artificial, backhanded, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, two-faced

Near Antonyms: candid, direct, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, openhearted, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight; clarifying, elucidative, explanatory, illuminating; revealing, revelatory; honest, trustworthy, truthful

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