deception

Everyday

1. Making someone believe something that is not true; tricking or lying. tree →
2. A trick or lie that fools someone. tree →

In the lessons

In safety: scams use deception, such as fake messages or fake prizes; check before you trust. In stories: villains use deception; in nature, animals use deception (camouflage, playing dead). Formal: «obtained by deception».

Examples

• The thief got in by deception, pretending to be a plumber. tree →
• Camouflage is a kind of deception in nature. tree →
• The magician's trick was clever deception. tree →
• Online scams depend on deception. tree →
• Her friendly smile was a deception. tree →
• The fox used deception to trick the crow. tree →
• By their advice she wrapped a stone in baby-clothes, and Cronus, in eager haste, swallowed it, without noticing the deception. tree →

Note

Verb: deceive (spelling: e before i after c). Adjective: deceptive (looks different from how it really is — «Appearances can be deceptive»). Uncountable for the act, countable for a single trick.