n. An instance of actions and/or schemes fabricated to mislead and/or delude someone into errantly believing a lie or inaccuracy.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The act of deceiving or misleading.
n. The state of being deceived or misled.
n. That which deceives or is intended to deceive; false representation; artifice; cheat; fraud.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The act of deceiving or misleading.
n. The state of being deceived or misled.
n. That which deceives; artifice; cheat: as, the scheme is all a deception.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. the act of deceiving
n. an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
n. a misleading falsehood
Word Usage
"I said that my affections were already engaged: yet I meant you to believe, as you did, that I loved another; and the thought of the deception, for it _was deception_, has caused me ceaseless contrition."