noun

• An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick.
• An act of deceiving someone.
• (uncountable) The state of being deceitful or deceptive.
• (law) The tort or fraudulent representation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity, or recklessly, or without reasonable grounds for believing its truth and with intent to induce reliance on it; the plaintiff justifiably relies on the deception, to his injury.