deceitful
Americanadjective
-
full of deceit
Usage
What does deceitful mean? Deceitful means intended to or tending to deceive—to lie, mislead, or otherwise hide or distort the truth.The noun deceit most commonly refers to the act or practice of deceiving, but it can also refer to the quality of someone or something that deceives. A deceitful person can be said to be full of deceit.Deceitful can describe people, their actions, or something that deceives or is intended to deceive, as in It was a deceitful plan from the beginning. The word deceptive has a very similar meaning, but it’s typically applied to actions or practices, as in deceptive business practices.Being deceitful doesn’t just involve lying. It can consist of misrepresenting or omitting the truth or more complicated cover-ups. Anything that involves intentionally misleading someone is deceitful.Words like deceit and deceitful often imply a pattern of behavior, rather than a one-time act.Example: I’m sick of how deceitful you are—I can’t trust anything you say!
Other Word Forms
- deceitfully adverb
- deceitfulness noun
- undeceitful adjective
Etymology
Origin of deceitful
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; deceit + -ful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Martin, a respected doctor, is charming, as handsome as “an Italian movie star” and sociopathically deceitful.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
And it’s gone along on the same trajectory with deceitful disclosures.
From Slate • Feb. 4, 2026
Vampires in movies, deceitful husbands in plays, corrupt elected officials in office — their survival depends on the masses not knowing the truth.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2025
"You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again," he said.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025
“Not you. You told Mr. Brocklehurst I had a bad character, a deceitful disposition; and I’ll let everybody at Lowood know what you are, and what you have done.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.