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# deceptively

«deceptively» in Mova's school dictionary: **in a way that makes something seem different from what it…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb (deceptively)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Deceptively means in a way that makes something seem different from what it really is: "the question looks deceptively easy" means it seems easy but is actually hard. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#m1)

2) In house adverts, "deceptively spacious" means the house is bigger inside than it looks from outside. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, a "deceptively simple" problem hides a trick: read carefully. In stories, a deceptively calm sea or a deceptively kind stranger warns the reader to be careful. Phrases: deceptively simple, deceptively easy, deceptively spacious, deceptively strong.

### examples

- The puzzle looked deceptively easy, but nobody solved it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x1)
- The river looks deceptively calm, but the current is strong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x2)
- The house is deceptively spacious inside. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x3)
- The little dog is deceptively strong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x4)
- It was a deceptively simple question with a trick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x5)
- The ice looked deceptively thick, so we stayed off it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/#x6)

### note

Trap: "deceptively" can be unclear — "deceptively small" could mean it looks small but isn't, or looks big but is small. Usually it means the truth is the opposite of how it looks. Related: deceive, deception, deceptive.

### In the corpora

- ["Deceptively spacious" in a house advert usually means small (mostly UK).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/22-jobs-shops-and-estate-agents/20/)
- ["Compact" in a house advert means small, and "deceptively spacious" usually means small too.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/42-olympiad-reading-between-the-lines/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «deceptively» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deceptively/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.