Meanings
nounself-deception (usually uncountable, plural self-deceptions)
plural self-deceptions
- uncountableusuallyThe act of fooling oneself, of willfully not accepting the obvious.
Synonyms: self-deceit, self-delusion
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of fooling oneself, of willfully not accepting the obvious.
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More synonyms by meaning
nouna misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it
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Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*swé?
- Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*selbaz
- Old Englishself
- Old Englishself-
- Middle Englishself-
- Englishself-
- Englishdeception
- Englishself-deception
Translations
Bulgarian самоизмама
- самоизмама (samoizmama)fooling oneself
Chinese Mandarin 自我欺騙 /自我欺骗
- 自我欺騙 /自我欺骗 (zìwǒ qīpiàn)fooling oneself
Czech sebeklam
- sebeklamfooling oneself
Estonian enesepettus
- enesepettusfooling oneself
Finnish itsepetos
- itsepetosfooling oneself
French auto-illusion
- auto-illusionfooling oneself
German Selbsttäuschung, Selbstbetrug
- Selbsttäuschungfooling oneself
- Selbstbetrugfooling oneself
Greek αυταπάτη
- αυταπάτη (aftapáti)fooling oneself
Hindi आत्मवंचना
- आत्मवंचना (ātmavañcnā)fooling oneself
Icelandic sjálfsblekking
- sjálfsblekkingfooling oneself
Portuguese autoenganação
- autoenganaçãofooling oneself
Romanian autoamăgire
- autoamăgirefooling oneself
Russian самообма́н
- самообма́н (samoobmán)fooling oneself
Spanish autoengaño
- autoengañofooling oneself
Swedish självbedrägeri
- självbedrägerifooling oneself
Cite this entry
APA
self-deception. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-deception
MLA
“self-deception.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-deception. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-deception,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-deception.
Source: self-deception on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.