"causing delusion, deceptive," c. 1600; see delusion + -ive. Related: Delusively; delusiveness.
Entries linking to delusive
delusion n.
"act of misleading someone, deception, deceit," early 15c., delusioun, from Latin delusionem (nominative delusio) "a deceiving," noun of action from past-participle stem of deludere (see delude). As a form of mental derangement, "false impression or belief of a fixed nature," 1550s.
Technically, delusion is a belief that, though false, has been surrendered to and accepted by the whole mind as a truth; illusion is an impression that, though false, is entertained provisionally on the recommendation of the senses or the imagination, but awaits full acceptance and may not influence action. Delusions of grandeur, the exact phrase, is recorded from 1840, though the two words were in close association for some time before that.
-ive
word-forming element making adjectives from verbs, meaning "pertaining to, tending to; doing, serving to do," in some cases from Old French -if, but usually directly from Latin adjectival suffix -ivus (source also of Italian and Spanish -ivo). In some words borrowed from French at an early date it has been reduced to -y (as in hasty, tardy).