Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
deceitful, deceptive (adjs.)
These synonyms both mean “dishonest, intended to deceive.” Deceitful has a stronger suggestion of deliberate lying, whereas deceptive suggests the deliberately misleading more than the flatly false. Deceptive advertising misleads, most likely with half truths; deceitful advertising probably lies.
