self-deception

[self-di-sep-shuhn, self-] / ˈsɛlf dɪˈsɛp ʃən, ˌsɛlf- /

NOUN

delusion

Synonyms

STRONGEST

deception fantasy hallucination illusion pipe dream

STRONG

apparition blunder casuistry chicanery daydream deceptiveness dream error fallacy fancy figment ghost lapse mirage misapprehension mistake oversight phantasm phantom shade speciousness spuriousness trickery trip vision

WEAK

eidolon false impression fool's paradise head trip ignis fatuus optical illusion

Antonyms

STRONGEST

fact reality truth

STRONG

accuracy actuality being certainty correction fix honesty right success

WEAK

surety

NOUN

wishful thinking

Synonyms

WEAK

delusion fantasy mistaken belief sophistry

Antonyms

WEAK

reality

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Diplomacy divorced from that reality risks becoming not statecraft, but self-deception.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

This seems to be more of a problem than he’s admitting, and it’s not the only self-deception he practices.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

To not see this for what it is can be attributed to being naïve and gullible, to self-deception by outright denial, or to being complicit.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2025

But what role does this form of self-deception play in how people think about climate change?

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2024

In the dream his deepest feeling was always one of self-deception, because he did in fact know what was behind the wall of darkness.

From "1984" by George Orwell

self-deception

Example Sentences

Related Words