What does deceive mean?
Word: Deceive
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Deceive means to make someone believe something that is not true.
Synonyms: trick, fool
How do you spell deceive?
Syllables: de - ceive
Tricky part: After the c comes ei, not ie. Children who know i before e often write decieve.
Watch out for: decieve, decieved
Memory tip: Remember the rule: i before e, except after c. Here the pair comes straight after the c, so it is e first, then i.
Deceive in a sentence
Example 1: The fox tried to deceive the crow with sweet words.
Example 2: Never deceive your friends, even as a joke.
Example 3: Do not let a shiny wrapper deceive you; the sweet inside may be stale.
Fun Fact
Some animals deceive to stay safe. The hoverfly has black and yellow stripes like a wasp, so birds leave it alone, though it cannot sting.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
deceive
a) reassure
b) persuade
c) mislead
d) inform
Show answer
c) mislead. To deceive someone is to mislead them on purpose.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
A good magician can diceive even the sharpest eyes in the audience with a simple card trick.
a) sharpest
b) audience
c) magician
d) diceive
Show answer
d) diceive. The word starts with de, the same start as in decide.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
edecvei
a) believe
b) reprieve
c) device
d) deceive
Show answer
d) deceive. Only deceive and device use both a c and a v, and device is one letter too short.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) ilusion
b) mirracle
c) camoflage
d) deceive
Show answer
d) deceive. Illusion has a double l, camouflage keeps the u after the o, and miracle has one r.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is designed to deceive the eye?
a) a wall painted like a door
b) a ruler marked in centimetres
c) a clear glass of drinking water
d) a map drawn exactly to scale
Show answer
a) a wall painted like a door
2. If a stick insect deceives a bird, the bird ____.
a) calls other birds over
b) follows it up a tree
c) takes it for a twig
d) spots it straight away
Show answer
c) takes it for a twig
