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deceiver

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
de·ceive  (d-sv)
v. de·ceived, de·ceiv·ing, de·ceives
v.tr.
1. To cause to believe what is not true; mislead.
2. Archaic To catch by guile; ensnare.
v.intr.
1. To practice deceit.
2. To give a false impression: appearances can deceive.

[Middle English deceiven, from Old French deceveir, from Vulgar Latin *dcipre, from Latin dcipere, to ensnare, deceive : d-, de- + capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]

de·ceiva·ble adj.
de·ceiver n.
de·ceiving·ly adv.
Synonyms: deceive, betray, mislead, beguile, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, double-cross
These verbs mean to lead another into error, danger, or a disadvantageous position by underhand means. Deceive involves the deliberate misrepresentation of the truth: "We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know, because they have never deceived us" (Samuel Johnson).
Betray implies treachery: "When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself" (Isaac Bashevis Singer).
Mislead means to lead in the wrong direction or into error of thought or action: "My manhood, long misled by wandering fires,/Followed false lights" (John Dryden).
Beguile suggests deceiving by means of charm or allure: They beguiled unwary investors with tales of overnight fortunes.
To delude is to mislead the mind or judgment. The government deluded the public about the dangers of low-level radiation.
Dupe implies playing upon another's susceptibilities or naiveté: The shoppers were duped by false advertising.
Hoodwink refers to deluding by trickery: It is difficult to hoodwink a smart lawyer.
Bamboozle means to delude by the use of such tactics as hoaxing or artful persuasion: "Perhaps if I wanted to be understood or to understand I would bamboozle myself into belief, but I am a reporter" (Graham Greene).
Double-cross implies the betrayal of a confidence or the willful breaking of a pledge: The thief double-crossed his accomplice.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.deceiverdeceiver - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
offender, wrongdoer - a person who transgresses moral or civil law
bluffer, four-flusher - a person who tries to bluff other people
chiseler, chiseller, defrauder, grifter, scammer, swindler, gouger - a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud
decoy, steerer - a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
dodger, slyboots, fox - a shifty deceptive person
double-crosser, double-dealer, traitor, two-timer, betrayer - a person who says one thing and does another
defalcator, embezzler, peculator - someone who violates a trust by taking (money) for his own use
falsifier - someone who falsifies
finagler, wangler - a deceiver who uses crafty misleading methods
counterfeiter, forger - someone who makes copies illegally
fortune hunter - a person who seeks wealth through marriage
front man, nominal head, straw man, strawman, figurehead, front - a person used as a cover for some questionable activity
dissembler, dissimulator, hypocrite, phoney, phony, pretender - a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
imitator, impersonator - someone who (fraudulently) assumes the appearance of another
faker, imposter, impostor, pseud, pseudo, role player, sham, shammer, pretender, fraud, fake - a person who makes deceitful pretenses
liar, prevaricator - a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
misleader - someone who leads astray (often deliberately)
charlatan, mountebank - a flamboyant deceiver; one who attracts customers with tricks or jokes
obscurantist - a person who is deliberately vague
sandbagger - someone who deceives you about his true nature or intent in order to take advantage of you
two-timer - someone who deceives a lover or spouse by carrying on a sexual relationship with somebody else
utterer - someone who circulates forged banknotes or counterfeit coins

deceiver
noun liar, fraud, cheat, fake, betrayer, crook (informal), pretender, deluder, hypocrite, charlatan, trickster, con man (informal), sharper, impostor, fraudster, swindler, dissembler, inveigler, mountebank, snake in the grass, grifter (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), double-dealer, chiseller (informal), cozener He was condemned as a liar, cheat and deceiver.
Quotations
"men were deceivers ever" [William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing]
Translations
deceiver [dɪˈsiːvəʳ] Nimpostor(a) m/f, embustero/a m/f; [of women] → seductor m
deceiver
nBetrüger(in) m(f)
deceiver [dɪˈsiːvəʳ] ningannatore/trice
deceiver [dɪˈsiːvəʳ] ningannatore/trice


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
"I," said the Fever, "And I'm no deceiver, I'll shake his hand.
The truth must have been that, all unversed in the arts of the wily Greek, the deceiver of gods, the lover of strange women, the evoker of bloodthirsty shades, I yet longed for the beginning of my own obscure Odyssey, which, as was proper for a modern, should unroll its wonders and terrors beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
For I do indeed believe that to be an involuntary homicide is a less crime than to be a deceiver about beauty or goodness or justice in the matter of laws.
 
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