frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

deceit n. 1 deception, deceitfulness, fraud, fraudulence, cheating,
trickery, chicanery or chicane, dissimulation, dishonesty,
misrepresentation, double-dealing, duplicity, hypocrisy,
treachery, underhandedness, guile, craft, slyness, craftiness,
cunning, knavery, funny business, Colloq hanky-panky, monkey
business: Inside traders on the Stock Exchange profit
enormously from deceit. 2 trick, subterfuge, stratagem, ploy,
ruse, manoeuvre, artifice, wile, hoax, swindle, double-cross,
misrepresentation, pretence, sham, contrivance, shift,
confidence trick, subreption, gloze, Brit dialect or colloq US
flam; Colloq flimflam; Slang scam, con, con trick, con game:
She was sick of all his lies and deceits.
deceitful adj. dishonest, underhand(ed), untrustworthy, misleading,
crooked, insincere, false, fraudulent, counterfeit,
disingenuous, lying, mendacious, untruthful; wily, crafty, sly,
cunning, scheming, guileful, artful, sneaky, double-dealing,
two-faced, hypocritical, duplicitous, Colloq phoney or US also
phony: It was deceitful of you to pretend you loved her when
all you wanted was her money.
deceive v. mislead, delude, impose on or upon, fool, hoax, trick,
cheat, swindle, betray, double-cross, lead on, lead up or down
the garden path, lead astray, pull the wool over (someone's)
eyes, inveigle, cajole, Archaic cozen; Colloq con, bamboozle,
take in, take for a ride, two-time, move the goalposts; Slang US
take: He deceived even his friends and family into believing he
had been a war hero.
decent adj. 1 becoming, suitable, appropriate, proper, seemly,
fitting: Despite the life she led, the woman should have a
decent burial. 2 seemly, decorous, tasteful, dignified,
mannerly, nice, clean, respectable, polite, modest, presentable,
acceptable: Hereafter, you will use only decent language when
speaking to me! 3 adequate, acceptable, passable, fair,
competent, mediocre, middling, fair to middling, moderate,
respectable, not bad, ordinary, so so, not outstanding,
unimpressive, average, neither here nor there, all right,
reasonable, tolerable, satisfactory, good enough, Colloq OK or
okay: Sales in the first quarter were decent but hardly
outstanding. 4 courteous, proper, right, fair, honest,
honourable, friendly, considerate, gracious, nice, thoughtful,