Deceit De·ceit" noun [ Old French deceit , desçait , decept (cf. deceite , deçoite ), from Latin deceptus deception, from decipere . See Deceive .] 1. An attempt or disposition to deceive or lead into error; any declaration, artifice, or practice, which misleads another, or causes him to believe what is false; a contrivance to entrap; deception; a wily device; fraud.

Making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit .

Amos viii. 5.

Friendly to man, far from deceit or guile.

Milton.

Yet still we hug the dear deceit .

N. Cotton.

2. (Law) Any trick, collusion, contrivance, false representation, or underhand practice, used to defraud another. When injury is thereby effected, an action of deceit , as it called, lies for compensation.

Syn. -- Deception; fraud; imposition; duplicity; trickery; guile; falsifying; double-dealing; stratagem. See Deception .

Deceitful De·ceit"ful adjective Full of, or characterized by, deceit; serving to mislead or insnare; trickish; fraudulent; cheating; insincere.

Harboring foul deceitful thoughts.

Shak.

Deceitfully De·ceit"ful·ly adverb With intent to deceive.

Deceitfulness De·ceit"ful·ness noun 1. The disposition to deceive; as, a man's deceitfulness may be habitual.

2. The quality of being deceitful; as, the deceitfulness of a man's practices.

3. Tendency to mislead or deceive. "The deceitfulness of riches." Matt. xiii. 22.

Deceitless De·ceit"less adjective Free from deceit. Bp. Hall.

Deceivable De·ceiv"a·ble adjective [ French décevable .] 1. Fitted to deceive; deceitful. [ Obsolete]

The fraud of deceivable traditions.

Milton.

2. Subject to deceit; capable of being misled.

Blind, and thereby deceivable .

Milton.

Deceivableness De·ceiv"a·ble·ness noun 1. Capability of deceiving.

With all deceivableness of unrighteousness.

2 Thess. ii. 10.

2. Liability to be deceived or misled; as, the deceivableness of a child.

Deceivably De·ceiv"a·bly adverb In a deceivable manner.

Deceive De·ceive" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Deceived ; present participle & verbal noun Deceiving .] [ Middle English deceveir , French décevoir , from Latin decipere to catch, insnare, deceive; de- + capere to take, catch. See Capable , and confer Deceit , Deception .] 1. To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare.

Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving , and being deceived .

2 Tim. iii. 13.

Nimble jugglers that deceive the eye.

Shak.

What can 'scape the eye
Of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart?

Milton.

2. To beguile; to amuse, so as to divert the attention; to while away; to take away as if by deception.

These occupations oftentimes deceived
The listless hour.

Wordsworth.

3. To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud. [ Obsolete]

Plant fruit trees in large borders, and set therein fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive the trees.

Bacon.

Syn. -- Deceive , Delude , Mislead . Deceive is a general word applicable to any kind of misrepresentation affecting faith or life. To delude , primarily, is to make sport of, by deceiving, and is accomplished by playing upon one's imagination or credulity, as by exciting false hopes, causing him to undertake or expect what is impracticable, and making his failure ridiculous. It implies some infirmity of judgment in the victim, and intention to deceive in the deluder. But it is often used reflexively, indicating that a person's own weakness has made him the sport of others or of fortune; as, he deluded himself with a belief that luck would always favor him. To mislead is to lead, guide, or direct in a wrong way, either willfully or ignorantly.

Deceiver De·ceiv"er noun One who deceives; one who leads into error; a cheat; an impostor.

The deceived and the deceiver are his.

Job xii. 16.

Syn. -- Deceiver , Impostor . A deceiver operates by stealth and in private upon individuals; an impostor practices his arts on the community at large. The one succeeds by artful falsehoods, the other by bold assumption. The faithless friend and the fickle lover are deceivers ; the false prophet and the pretended prince are impostors .

December De·cem"ber (de*sĕm"bẽr) noun [ French décembre , from Latin December , from decem ten; this being the tenth month among the early Romans, who began the year in March. See Ten .] 1. The twelfth and last month of the year, containing thirty-one days. During this month occurs the winter solstice.

2. Fig.: With reference to the end of the year and to the winter season; as, the December of his life.

Decembrist De·cem"brist noun (Russian Hist.) One of those who conspired for constitutional government against the Emperor Nicholas on his accession to the throne at the death of Alexander I., in December, 1825; -- called also Dekabrist .

He recalls the history of the decembrists . . . that gallant band of revolutionists.

G. Kennan.

Decemdentate De`cem·den"tate adjective [ Latin decem ten + English dentate .] Having ten points or teeth.

Decemfid De·cem"fid (de*sĕm"fĭd) adjective [ Latin decem ten + root of findere to cleave.] (Botany) Cleft into ten parts.

Decemlocular De`cem·loc"u·lar adjective [ Latin decem ten + English locular .] (Botany) Having ten cells for seeds.

Decempedal De·cem"pe·dal (de*sĕm"pe*d a l) adjective [ Latin decem ten + English pedal .] 1. Ten feet in length.

2. (Zoology) Having ten feet; decapodal. [ R.] Bailey.

Decemvir De·cem"vir noun ; plural English Decemvirs , Latin Decemviri . [ Latin , from decem ten + vir a man.] 1. One of a body of ten magistrates in ancient Rome.

» The title of decemvirs was given to various bodies of Roman magistrates. The most celebrated decemvirs framed "the laws of the Twelve Tables," about 450 B. C. , and had absolute authority for three years.

2. A member of any body of ten men in authority.

Decemviral De·cem"vi·ral adjective [ Latin decemviralis .] Pertaining to the decemvirs in Rome.

Decemvirate De·cem"vi·rate noun [ Latin decemviratus .] 1. The office or term of office of the decemvirs in Rome.

2. A body of ten men in authority.

Decemvirship De·cem"vir·ship noun The office of a decemvir. Holland.

Decence De"cence noun Decency. [ Obsolete] Dryden.

Decency De"cen·cy noun ; plural Decencies . [ Latin decentia , from decens : confer French décence . See Decent .] 1. The quality or state of being decent, suitable, or becoming, in words or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty.

Observances of time, place, and of decency in general.

Burke.

Immodest words admit of no defense,
For want of decency is want of sense.

Roscommon.

2. That which is proper or becoming.

The external decencies of worship.

Atterbury.

Those thousand decencies , that daily flow
From all her words and actions.

Milton.

Decene De"cene noun [ Latin decem ten.] (Chemistry) One of the higher hydrocarbons, C ₁₀ H ₂₀ , of the ethylene series.

Decennary De·cen"na·ry noun ; plural Decennaries . [ Latin decennium a period of ten years; decem ten + annus a year.] 1. A period of ten years.

2. (O. Eng. Law) A tithing consisting of ten neighboring families. Burrill.

Decennial De·cen"ni·al adjective [ See Decennary .] Consisting of ten years; happening every ten years; as, a decennial period; decennial games. Hallam.

Decennial De·cen"ni·al noun A tenth year or tenth anniversary.

Decennium De·cen"ni·um noun ; plural Decenniums , Latin Decennia . [ Latin ] A period of ten years. "The present decennium ." Hallam. "The last decennium of Chaucer's life." A. W. Ward.

Decennoval, Decennovary De·cen"no·val, De·cen"no·va·ry adjective [ Latin decem ten + novem nine.] Pertaining to the number nineteen; of nineteen years. [ R.] Holder.

Decent De"cent (dē"s e nt) adjective [ Latin decens , decentis , present participle of decere to be fitting or becoming; akin to decus glory, honor, ornament, Greek dokei^n to seem good, to seem, think; confer Sanskrit dāç to grant, to give; and perhaps akin to English attire , tire : confer French décent . Confer Decorate , Decorum , Deign .] 1. Suitable in words, behavior, dress, or ceremony; becoming; fit; decorous; proper; seemly; as, decent conduct; decent language. Shak.

Before his decent steps.

Milton.

2. Free from immodesty or obscenity; modest.

3. Comely; shapely; well-formed. [ Archaic]

A sable stole of cyprus lawn
Over thy decent shoulders drawn.

Milton.

By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed.

Pope.

4. Moderate, but competent; sufficient; hence, respectable; fairly good; reasonably comfortable or satisfying; as, a decent fortune; a decent person.

A decent retreat in the mutability of human affairs.

Burke.

-- De"cent*ly , adverb -- De"cent*ness , noun

Decentralization De·cen`tral·i·za"tion noun The action of decentralizing, or the state of being decentralized. "The decentralization of France." J. P. Peters.

Decentralize De·cen"tral·ize transitive verb To prevent from centralizing; to cause to withdraw from the center or place of concentration; to divide and distribute (what has been united or concentrated); -- esp. said of authority, or the administration of public affairs.

Deceptible De·cep"ti·ble adjective Capable of being deceived; deceivable. Sir T. Browne. -- De*cep`ti*bil"i*ty noun

Deception De·cep"tion noun [ French déception , Latin deceptio , from decipere , deceptum . See Deceive .] 1. The act of deceiving or misleading. South.

2. The state of being deceived or misled.

There is one thing relating either to the action or enjoyments of man in which he is not liable to deception .

South.

3. That which deceives or is intended to deceive; false representation; artifice; cheat; fraud.

There was of course room for vast deception .

Motley.

Syn. -- Deception , Deceit , Fraud , Imposition . Deception usually refers to the act, and deceit to the habit of the mind; hence we speak of a person as skilled in deception and addicted to deceit . The practice of deceit springs altogether from design, and that of the worst kind; but a deception does not always imply aim and intention. It may be undesigned or accidental. An imposition is an act of deception practiced upon some one to his annoyance or injury; a fraud implies the use of stratagem, with a view to some unlawful gain or advantage.

Deceptious De·cep"tious adjective [ Late Latin deceptiosus .] Tending deceive; delusive. [ R.]

As if those organs had deceptious functions.

Shak.

Deceptive De·cep"tive adjective [ Confer French déceptif . See Deceive .] Tending to deceive; having power to mislead, or impress with false opinions; as, a deceptive countenance or appearance.

Language altogether deceptive , and hiding the deeper reality from our eyes.

Trench.

Deceptive cadence (Mus.) , a cadence on the subdominant, or in some foreign key, postponing the final close.

Deceptively De·cep"tive·ly adverb In a manner to deceive.

Deceptiveness De·cep"tive·ness noun The power or habit of deceiving; tendency or aptness to deceive.

Deceptivity De`cep·tiv"i·ty noun Deceptiveness; a deception; a sham. [ R.] Carlyle.

Deceptory De·cep"to·ry adjective [ Latin deceptorius , from decipere .] Deceptive. [ R.]

Decern De·cern" transitive verb [ Latin decernere . See Decree .] 1. To perceive, discern, or decide. [ Obsolete] Granmer.

2. (Scots Law) To decree; to adjudge.

Decerniture De·cern"i·ture noun (Scots Law) A decree or sentence of a court. Stormonth.

Decerp De·cerp" transitive verb [ Latin decerpere ; de- + carpere to pluck.] To pluck off; to crop; to gather. [ Obsolete]

Decerpt De·cerpt" adjective [ Latin decerptus , past participle of decerpere .] Plucked off or away. [ Obsolete]

Decerptible De·cerp"ti·ble adjective That may be plucked off, cropped, or torn away. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Decerption De·cerp"tion noun 1. The act of plucking off; a cropping.

2. That which is plucked off or rent away; a fragment; a piece. Glanvill.

Decertation De`cer·ta"tion noun [ Latin decertatio , from decertare , decertatum ; de- + certare to contend.] Contest for mastery; contention; strife. [ R.] Arnway.

Decession De·ces"sion noun [ Latin decessio , from decedere to depart. See Decease , noun ] Departure; decrease; -- opposed to accesion . [ Obsolete] Jer. Taylor.

Decharm De·charm" transitive verb [ Confer French décharmer . See Charm .] To free from a charm; to disenchant.

Dechristianize De·chris"tian·ize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Dechristianized ; present participle & verbal noun Dechristianizing .] To turn from, or divest of, Christianity.

Deciare Dec"i·are` noun [ French déciare ; prefix déci- tenth (fr. Latin decimus ) + are . See 2d Are .] (Metric System) A measure of area, the tenth part of an are; ten square meters.

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