List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 102

SYNONYMS: deceive, betray, mislead, beguile, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, double-cross.
These verbs mean to lead another into error, danger, or a disadvantageous position, for the most part by underhand means.

Deceive involves the deliberate concealment or the misrepresentation of the truth: There is a moment of difficulty and danger at which flattery and falsehood can no longer deceive.
Betray implies faithlessness or treachery: When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself.
Mislead means to lead in the wrong direction or into error of thought or action: He was misled by a deceitful lady.
Beguile suggests deceiving or misleading by means of pleasant or alluring methods: They beguiled unwary investors with tales of fortunes.
To delude is to mislead to the point where a person is unable to tell truth from falsehood or to form sound judgments: The government deluded the public.
Dupe means to delude by playing upon another's susceptibilities or naïveté: Gullible shoppers are easily duped by unscrupulous advertisers.
Hoodwink refers to deluding by trickery: It is difficult to hoodwink a smart lawyer.
Bamboozle . less formally means to delude by the use of such tactics as hoaxing, befuddling, or artful persuasion: She was bamboozled by the smooth talking salesman
Double-cross implies the betrayal of a confidence or the willful breaking of a pledge: New party members felt they had been double-crossed by the old guard.