the act of deceiving or the state of being deceived something that deceives; trick
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•cep•tion /dɪˈsɛpʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- the act of deceiving or the state of being deceived:[uncountable]We pointed out the deception in the salesperson's claims.
- something that deceives or is intended to deceive;
a trick;
ruse:[countable]another obvious deception.
de•cep•tion
(di sep′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of deceiving;
the state of being deceived. - something that deceives or is intended to deceive;
fraud;
artifice.
- Late Latin dēceptiōn- (stem of dēceptiō), equivalent. to Latin dēcept(us) (past participle of dēcipere; see deceive) + -iōn- -ion
- Old French
- late Middle English decepcioun 1400–50
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged trick, stratagem, ruse, wile, hoax, imposture.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'deception' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
I doubt it
- Sigurd
- abuse
- artifice
- bait
- bamboozle
- barratry
- bluff
- bona fide
- calumny
- charade
- cheat
- chicane
- chicanery
- circumvent
- clandestine
- clip
- codology
- con
- craft
- crafty
- cunning
- curve
- debrief
- deceit
- deception bed
- deception table
- deceptive
- decoy
- delusion
- disabuse
- double-dealing
- doubleness
- duplicity
- easy money
- elusion
- evasion
- fallacy
- falsehood
- falsity
- fickle
- fiddle
- finagle
- find out
- flam
- flimflam
- fob
- fraud
- frustration
- funny business