Synonyms of deceiving

deceiving 1 of 2

adjective

as in misleading

tending or having power to deceive

the deceiving nature of most flat maps of the globe causes some people to believe erroneously that Greenland is actually bigger than South America

Synonyms & Similar Words

• misleading
• deceptive
• false
• deceitful
• incorrect
• specious
• beguiling
• fallacious
• delusive
• deluding
• ambiguous
• delusory
• inaccurate
• trick
• fraudulent
• subtle
• lying
• crooked
• cunning
• distracting
• shifty
• slick
• wily
• dishonest
• treacherous
• sneaky
• tricky
• perplexing
• crafty
• confounding
• wrong
• duplicitous
• untrustworthy
• puzzling
• underhanded
• subtile
• artful
• devious
• counterfeit
• sly
• foxy
• mendacious
• untruthful
• shady
• faithless
• forged
• underhand
• fake
• insidious
• defrauding
• artificial
• perfidious
• dissembling
• trickish
• guileful
• evasive
• bewildering
• feigned
• hypocritical
• bogus
• sham
• sneaking
• phony
• insincere
• spurious
• knavish
• ambidextrous
• jive
• double-dealing
• equivocal
• backhanded
• fast
• circuitous
• two-faced
• left-handed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightforward
• plain
• open
• direct
• forthright
• straight
• aboveboard
• frank
• illuminating
• candid
• nondeceptive
• outspoken
• revealing
• explanatory
• clarifying
• plainspoken
• truthful
• revelatory
• honest
• openhearted
• trustworthy
• free-spoken
• foursquare
• elucidative

deceiving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deceive

as in tricking

to cause to believe what is untrue

he went to great lengths to deceive his family about the nature of his new job at the mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tricking
• fooling
• misleading
• teasing
• misguiding
• deluding
• misinforming
• kidding
• duping
• conning
• suckering
• hoodwinking
• gulling
• bamboozling
• cheating
• hoaxing
• bluffing
• beguiling
• cozening
• catching
• juggling
• stinging
• snookering
• spoofing
• humbugging
• snowing
• sucking in
• having
• burning
• gaffing
• taking in
• stringing along
• gammoning
• faking out
• having on
• buffaloing
• hornswoggling
• defrauding
• pulling one's leg
• doing a number on
• swindling
• leading one down the garden path
• pulling the wool over one's eyes
• sticking
• fleecing
• shortchanging
• bleeding
• putting on
• mulcting
• rooking
• hustling
• chiseling
• squeezing
• diddling
• flimflamming
• euchring
• skinning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• revealing
• exposing
• uncovering
• disclosing
• undeceiving
• unmasking
• telling
• debunking
• divulging
• showing up
• unveiling
• disillusioning
• disabusing
• uncloaking
• disenchanting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deceiving

Adjective

In our experience, these mid-sized sets can be very deceiving. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025

Few things in life are more deceiving than a Week 1 game, especially those played in a rainstorm on the other side of an ocean. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025

Verb

But 3-0 marks can be deceiving heading into a battle of unbeatens at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026

Boulder County accused the fossil fuel companies of deceiving the general public about the dangers of their oil and gas operations and the associated greenhouse gas emissions through their advertising and marketing. — Callie Patteson, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026

Pitinan Packable Rain Jacket With Hood, $27 Packing for a short weekend getaway is deceiving. — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 24 Sep. 2026

Six years later, over 2,000 colleges and universities are still test-optional – although the categorization may be deceiving, as some scholarships may depend on SAT scores. — Beth Kania-Gosche, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026

The company was also accused of deceiving customers into buying add-on products to get financing for their purchase. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2026

The Bucs couldn’t ask for a better bounce-back opponent after dropping their opener in Cincy, a somewhat deceiving result because of all the Baker Mayfield turnovers. — Hank Gola, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026

The public deserves to know which of his points were defensible and which were deceiving. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

At Ground Zero, 9/11 widow Terry Strada accused Saudi Arabia of deceiving victims’ families and urged the administration to rethink Washington’s close ties as a landmark lawsuit moves forward. — Collin Binkley, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026