Deceptive (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Designed to deceive or mislead either deliberately or inadvertently; "the deceptive calm in the eye of the storm"; "deliberately deceptive packaging"; "a misleading similarity"; "statistics can be presented in ways that are misleading".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The company's deliberately deceptive advertising campaign was shut down by the authorities.
- The calm waters of the lake were deceptive, hiding strong currents beneath the surface.
- The politician's words were laced with deceptive rhetoric, intended to sway public opinion.
- The misleading similarity between the two products led many customers to purchase the wrong one.
- The statistics presented in the report were deceptive, making the company's financial situation appear more stable than it actually was.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Causing one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true; "deceptive calm"; "a delusory pleasure".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The deceptive advertising made the product sound more effective than it actually was.
- Her smile was deceptive, hiding the sadness that had been plaguing her for weeks.
- The deceptive calm of the sea was suddenly shattered by a massive wave.
- The mirage created a deceptive illusion of an oasis in the middle of the desert.
- The statistics presented in the report were deceptive, as they didn't take into account the sampling error.