# deceit

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɪˈsiːt/ · frequency rank #21,179

## Definitions
1. An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick.
2. An act of deceiving someone.
3. The state of being deceitful or deceptive.
4. The tort or fraudulent representation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity, or recklessly, or without reasonable grounds for believing its truth and with intent to induce reliance on it; the plaintiff justifiably relies on the deception, to his injury.

## Etymology
From Middle English deceyte, from Old French deceite, deçoite, from decevoir (“to deceive”), from Latin dēcipere (“to cheat, mislead”).

## Easily confused with
- **defeat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-defeat)
- **decent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-decent)
- **desert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-desert)
- **detect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-detect)
- **defect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-defect)
- **detest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-detest)
- **descent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-descent)
- **deceive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-deceive)
- **decrepit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceit-vs-decrepit)
- **debit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/debit-vs-deceit)

## Common misspellings (8)
`dceeit`, `ddeceit`, `decceit`, `deceitt`, `deceti`, `deciet`, `deecit`, `edceit`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/deceit