What is "deceit"

Deceit \De*ceit"\, n. [OF. deceit, des[,c]ait, decept (cf. deceite, de[,c]oite), fr. L. deceptus deception, fr. 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.

c.1300, from Old French deceite, fem. past participle of deceveir (see deceive).\n\nDeceit is a shorter and more energetic word for deceitfulness, indicating the quality; it is also, but more rarely, used to express the act or manner of deceiving. The reverse is true of deception, which is properly the act or course by which one deceives, and not properly the quality; it may express the state of being deceived. Fraud is an act or series of acts of deceit by which one attempts to benefit himself at the expense of others. It is generally a breaking of the law; the others are not.

[entry for "deceit" in "The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia," 1902]

n. 1 An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick 2 An act of deceive someone

1. n. the quality of being fraudulent [syn: fraudulence]

2. a misleading falsehood [syn: misrepresentation, deception]

3. the act of deceiving [syn: deception, dissembling, dissimulation]

Deceit is the second and final studio album by English experimental rock band This Heat. It was recorded in 1981 and released in September of the same year by Rough Trade Records. The title is in part a pun on the band's name.

Deceit is regarded as a classic of the post-punk era, and was ranked at number 20 on Pitchfork's list of the greatest albums of the 1980s.

Deceit is an original novel written by Peter Darvill-Evans and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. Also included is Doctor Who Magazine comic character Abslom Daak, in his first appearance outside DWM. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Darvill-Evans, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #198.

Deceit is the propagation of beliefs that are not true.

• The tort of deceit in Derry v Peek] and Freeman v. Palsey

Deceit may also refer to:

Deceit is a 1989 minimalist science fiction film. The entire film was shot in three days. The plot follows aliens who decide to postpone their plans to destroy Earth until they are able to have sexual relations with some of the women on the planet.

Deceit (sometimes referred to as The Deceit) is a 1923 American silent black-and-white film. It is a conventional melodrama directed by Oscar Micheaux. Like many of Micheaux's films, Deceit casts clerics in a negative light. Although the film was shot in 1921, it was not released until 1923. Its survival status is classified as unknown, which suggests that it is a lost film.

Deceit is a 2000 British two-part mystery television serial categorized as both a drama and a thriller. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Clare Francis. Stuart Orme served as director and Nicolas Brown served as producer. It was remade as an American television movie with the same title in 2004.

Deceit ( Italian: Il gioco) is a 1999 Italian mystery film. The working title was Commedia.

Deceit is a 2004 American television movie adapted from the 2000 British television serial of the same name. Marlo Thomas, the film's leading actress, also served as executive producer. This crime film follows Ellen McCarthy (Thomas) in her attempt to determine the circumstances of her rich husband's disappearance at sea. It was first broadcast on March 15, 2004 by Lifetime Television.

Deceit is a 2009 American short film. The story takes place during the Vietnam War and revolves around a young girl and three soldiers trapped in a defensive fighting position. The film received the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the 2009 Cinema City International Film Festival. It was also accepted by the SoCal Film Festival.

Deceit (foaled May 3, 1968 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racemare bred by Leslie Combs II and Charles H. Wacker III and owned by E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm. Deceit was sired by Prince John, a four-time leading broodmare sire in North America, and out of the mare Double Agent, a daughter of Double Jay who was the 1946 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and also a four-time leading broodmare sire in North America.

Trained by Del Carroll, Deceit raced successfully from age two to four, winning several of the important U.S. northeast races for her gender including the Astarita and Fashion Stakes at age two and the first two legs of the Triple Tiara, the Acorn and Mother Goose Stakes at three.

Deceit is a short Thrilling-Drama directed by Mark Wambui. The film was nominated for the 2nd Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2014 (AMVCA) Under Best New Media/Online Category and the 35th Durban International Film Festival .