1. (n.) The act of deceiving or misleading.

2. (n.) The state of being deceived or misled.

3. (n.) That which deceives or is intended to deceive; false representation; artifice; cheat; fraud.

acting affectation airy nothing appearance artifice attitudinizing autism befooling bluff bluffing bubble burial burying casuistry cheat cheating chicane chicanery chimera clouding color coloring concealedness concealment covering covering up covertness cunning darkening daydream deceit deceptiveness defrauding deluded belief delusion dereism dirt disguise dishonesty dissemblance dissembling dissimulation double-dealing dream dream vision dreamland dreamworld dupery duping duplicity equivocation facade face fake fakement fakery faking false air false belief false front false show falsity feigning feint flam four-flushing fraud front gilt gloss guile gulling gyp hallucination hanky-panky hiddenness hiding hoax hoodwinking humbug humbuggery hypocrisy ignis fatuus illusion impose imposture indirection interment intrigue invisibility knavery manipulation masking masquerade meretriciousness mirage misbelief misconception mystification obscuration obscurement occultation ostentation outward show overreaching pipe dream playacting pose posing posture pretense pretension pretext putting away representation ride rip-off ruse screening secrecy secretion seeming self-deceit self-deception self-delusion sell semblance sham sharp practice show simulacrum simulation snow job sophism sophistry speciousness spoof spuriousness stratagem subterfuge tergiversation treachery trick trickery trip uncommunicativeness vapor varnish wile window dressing wrong impression