English Explanatory Dictionary

deceit

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick.
  2. An act of deceiving someone.
  3. The state of being deceitful or deceptive.
  4. The tort or fraudulent representation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity, or recklessly, or without reasonable grounds for believing its truth and with intent to induce reliance on it; the plaintiff justifiably relies on the deception, to his injury.

Pronunciation

/dɪˈsiːt/ En-us-deceit.ogg

Word forms

deceit deceits deceipt

Etymology

From Middle English deceyte, from Old French deceite, deçoite, from decevoir (“to deceive”), from Latin dēcipere (“to cheat, mislead”).

Synonyms

deceit deceitfulness deceptiveness dissimulation duplicity fraudulence fraudulency trickery perfidy underhandedness trick fraud deception dupery fiddle fetch hocus-pocus jugglery legerdemain list mislead prestidigitation Punic faith rinky-dink ruse sleight of hand subterfuge swack

Related words

deception

Derived words

deceited deceiteous deceitful deceitless self-deceit
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