delude

[ dih-lood ]

verb (used with object)

, de·lud·ed, de·lud·ing.

1. to mislead the mind or judgment of; deceive:

   His conceit deluded him into believing he was important.

   Synonyms: gull, defraud, cheat, dupe, cozen, beguile

2. Obsolete. to mock or frustrate the hopes or aims of.
3. Obsolete. to elude; evade.

delude

/ dɪˈluːd /

verb

1. to deceive the mind or judgment of; mislead; beguile
2. rare.
   to frustrate (hopes, expectations, etc)

Derived Forms

• deˈludingly, adverb
• deˈluder, noun
• deˈludable, adjective

Other Words From

• de·lud·er noun
• de·lud·ing·ly adverb
• non·de·lud·ing adjective
• un·de·lud·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of delude¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English deluden, from Latin dēlūdere “to play false,” equivalent to dē- de- + lūdere “to play”

Word History and Origins

Origin of delude¹

C15: from Latin dēlūdere to mock, play false, from de- + lūdere to play

Example Sentences

The problem is that we delude ourselves into thinking that our intentions are still selfless.

From Time

Most of us have dragged our feet and deluded ourselves for too long about the state of the world.

From ProPublica

But we shouldn't delude ourselves that this would have "kept the election from being stolen".

From The Daily Beast

Without sufficient growth, we should not delude ourselves about how painful this is going to be.

From The Daily Beast

To ignore those words—and those ideas—is to disrespect the organization, let alone delude oneself.

From The Daily Beast

We should not delude ourselves that the middle is the golden path.

From The Daily Beast

Don't delude yourself with the notion that she is sitting down in sackcloth and ashes with her past!

From Project Gutenberg

The reader would smile to read the infatuated simple reasons with which the bishop endeavoured to delude the ignorant.

From Project Gutenberg

At others, I yield to a fools paradise and delude myself with impossible solutions that deceive me but for an hour.

From Project Gutenberg

But, in any case, there is no use to delude ourselves as to what are the real qualifications of Mr. Filipino.

From Project Gutenberg

But Isaac was formed in too simple and honest a mould to delude the two women or himself with iridescent dreams of success.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dupe
• hoodwink
• misguide
• mislead