noun ·4 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act of fooling oneself, of willfully not accepting the obvious. uncountable, usually
2. 2
   a misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

self-deceitairy nothingautismbamboozlementbefoolingbluffing

Example

More examples

"Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception."

Etymology

From self- + deception.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.