deceptively

adv

Etymology: Etymology tree English deceptive Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English deceptively From deceptive + -ly.

1. In a deceptive manner; misleadingly.

   “those deceptively jaunty tunes that mask less-than- cheerful lyrics”

   “2010, Australian Law Dictionarydeceptively similar, Oxford Reference A trade mark is deceptively similar to another trade mark if it so nearly resembles that other trade mark that it is likely to deceive or cause confusion”

2. Actually but not apparently.

   “We've rounded up 26 recipes that sound, look and taste difficult but are actually really easy. ... try one of these deceptively easy but wildly impressive recipes.”

   “The “deceptively spacious” cliche is accurate in the case of this house near the corner of Castlepark Road and Hyde Road: from the front, it looks like a traditional 1930s home. But the current owners, who moved here 23 years ago, have extended it three times since then; now, with two levels at the back, it has 346sq m (3,725sq ft) of space.”

3. Apparently but not actually.

   “The trial court found that the crewman who had spread the sawdust over the oil had made the situation more dangerous by creating a deceptively safe condition, resulting in a "trap" and an unseaworthy condition.”

   “Mathematicians have long pondered a deceptively easy puzzle about the reach of a goat tied to a fence. Until now, they’ve only found approximate answers.”