1
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
in his deceptive answer about the vehicle's history, the salesman said that the used car had never been hit by another car
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception
a mail-order firm indicted for deceptive business practices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deceptive
The suit seeks up to $10,000 in civil penalties for each potential violation of state law that prohibits deceptive practices, unfair acts or misrepresentation and that date back to 2019.
—
Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Nor is there anything untoward and deceptive about it.
—Adam Gelb, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Our Best Actor brings depth and complexity to a performance of deceptive simplicity, as his character struggles to unlearn a lifetime of avoiding emotional closeness.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 23 Aug. 2025
But Ferguson justified the FTC’s new attack on these treatments by referring to the agency’s traditional practice of pursuing companies for making false and deceptive claims.
—Arthur Allen, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Nor is there anything untoward and deceptive about it.
—Adam Gelb, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Our Best Actor brings depth and complexity to a performance of deceptive simplicity, as his character struggles to unlearn a lifetime of avoiding emotional closeness.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 23 Aug. 2025
But Ferguson justified the FTC’s new attack on these treatments by referring to the agency’s traditional practice of pursuing companies for making false and deceptive claims.
—Arthur Allen, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceptive
Adjective
-
Overpayments can occur for many reasons, the agency said, including incorrect wage reporting, failure to meet work requirements or providing false or misleading information.—
Adrienne Roberts,
Freep.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
In court, government lawyers frequently made false or misleading claims about the men’s whereabouts.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Businesses/nominees cannot obtain votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
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After a long process of validating legitimate claims and tossing out the ones that were fraudulent or duplicative, Angeion, the company in charge of distributing the payments, has finished its calculations determining how much each individual will get as payments go out starting this month.—
Alix Martichoux,
The Hill,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Representatives for James have called the fraud claims made against her politically motivated and false.—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
6 Sep. 2025
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On the next play, Taylor was called for a false-start penalty.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Another reason is that most EVs don’t use wires in their steering column so they can’t be hotwired and some have cameras and motion detection that deter shady people that get too close to the vehicle.—
Keenan Thompson,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Leaving it longer, especially in shady areas, helps the grass develop a stronger root system.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Industry groups insist that they are committed to weeding out dishonest companies that make false claims or sell dangerous products.—
Suzy Khimm,
NBC news,
26 Aug. 2025
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No, it was done to protect dishonest businesses.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Their boss, the only one not carrying a blaster, pointed a long crooked finger at Rusty and all the Blasters were raised at Rusty in unison.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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For a Chicago Cubs lineup that has struggled lately to consistently score runs, let alone put up a crooked number, Friday’s opener against the Colorado Rockies provided the ideal bounce-back environment coming off the sweep in San Francisco.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deceptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceptive. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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