deceive

/dɪˈsiːv/

//dɪˈsiːv// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"deceive" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deceive” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,585. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,585
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To trick or mislead.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deceive · deceive · English

deceive · rank #17,585 · 9 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,585
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH defamation

Nearest frequency peer: defamation (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “deceive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “deceive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

deceive vs decide
71% similar
deceive vs derive
71% similar
deceive vs deserve
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for deceive
PropertyValue
Headworddeceive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈsiːv/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,585
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “deceive”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).deceivelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “defamation” (#17,586), “Czechoslovakia” (#17,583), “cutler” (#17,582). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deceive” is #17,585. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around deceive (IPA /dɪˈsiːv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,585 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To trick or mislead.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for deceive, with forms such as "dceeive", "ddeceive", and "decceive". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "decide", "derive", "deserve", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English deceyven, from Anglo-Norman deceivre, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan. The correct English form is deceive, spelled D-E-C-E-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To trick or mislead.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how deceive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It feels painful to begin seeing clearly, that you’ve been deceived by the very people and institutions you trusted to guide you.
  2. I know—for Death, who comes for me From regions of the blest afar, Where there is nothing to deceive, Hath left his iron gate ajar, […]

Etymology

From Middle English deceyven, from Anglo-Norman deceivre, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan.

Synonyms

abusebeglammercounterfeitdeceivedissembledissimulatefeignjifflead astrayoverreachput onspoofshamtrick

This word in other languages

engañar(Español)tromper(Français)betrügen(Deutsch)enganar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dceeive
  • ddeceive
  • decceive
  • deceiev
  • deceivve
  • decevie
  • decieve
  • deecive
  • edceive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deceive - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

dceeive2ddeceive1decceive1deceiev2deceivve1decevie2decieve2deecive2
Edit distance from "deceive"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "deceive"?
"deceive" is spelled D-E-C-E-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈsiːv/.
What does "deceive" mean?
As a verb, "deceive" means: To trick or mislead.
What words are commonly confused with "deceive"?
"deceive" is commonly confused with "decide", "derive", "deserve". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "deceive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deceive" is /dɪˈsiːv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "deceive"?
From Middle English deceyven, from Anglo-Norman deceivre, from Latin dēcipiō (“to deceive; beguile; entrap”), from dē- (“from”) + capiō (“to seize”); see captive. Compare conceive, perceive, receive. Displaced native Old English beswīcan. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "deceive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Compton#17,574compile#17,572comedic#17,571Colbert#17,570

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

cutler9 variantscreeps9 variantscleric9 variantschatter9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list