deceit

[ dih-seet ]
See synonyms for deceit on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating:Once she exposed their deceit, no one ever trusted them again.

  2. an act or device intended to deceive; trick; stratagem.

  1. the quality of being deceitful; duplicity; falseness: a man full of deceit.

Origin of deceit

1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English deceite, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun use of feminine of deceit “deceived,” past participle of deceivre “to deceive”; see deceive

synonym study For deceit

1, 3. See duplicity

Other words for deceit

Opposites for deceit

Other words from deceit

  • non·de·ceit, noun

Words Nearby deceit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deceit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deceit

deceit

/ (dɪˈsiːt) /


noun
  1. the act or practice of deceiving

  2. a statement, act, or device intended to mislead; fraud; trick

  1. a tendency to deceive

Origin of deceit

1
C13: from Old French deceite, from deceivre to deceive

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