delude
/dɪˈluːd/verb
delude is spelled D-E-L-U-D-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, delude means “To deceive into believing something which is false; to lead into error; to dupe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in delude?
| Letters | 6: D-E-L-U-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,192nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is delude?
Delude appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce delude?
- UK /dɪˈluːd/
- UK /dɪˈljuːd/
- US /dɪˈluːd/
Delude has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-delude.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with delude?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as delude from its last stressed vowel (/ud/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of delude
- deludes present, singular, he/she/it
- deluding participle, present
- deluded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does delude mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To deceive into believing something which is false; to lead into error; to dupe.
- 2
obsoleteTo frustrate or disappoint.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Delude in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to deceive:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does delude come from?
From Middle English deluden, borrowed from Latin dēlūdō (“mock, deceive”), from de + lūdō (“to make sport of, to mock”). See ludicrous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).