deceptively

deceptively

1.

• His voice was deceptively innocent, and she was led right into the trap —E. Rees, 1992.

Was his voice innocent or not? The answer seems to be that the appearance was of innocence whereas the reality was of something more sinister, and deceptively is therefore being used in the same way as apparently or misleadingly. This balance of meanings is more obvious when deceptively is used with words such as appear, seem, etc.:

• Bill, who rarely played more than five minutes in any game because of a heart condition, was one of that rare breed who made the art of football look deceptively simple —M. Gist, 1993.

2. But deceptively does not readily accompany an adjective that denotes something unfavourable or unwelcome, in the way that the more neutral word apparently does. When the appearance is unfavourable and the reality is favourable deceptively still seems to accompany the favourable adjective, as in the following example which is an echo of familiar estate agents' jargon:

• Manoeuvring down the narrow steps into the boat, and turning into the airy and deceptively spacious lounge, Birbeck was greeted by Branson and Al Clark —M. Brown, 1989.

In this case, the lounge is claimed to be spacious (favourable) but appears not to be (unfavourable, i.e. the reverse of the balance found in the earlier examples), but it is understandable that no one in these circumstances would want to say that the room is (for example) deceptively cramped. Here, the analogy is with surprisingly (which strengthens the meaning of the adjective) rather than with apparently (which reduces it). This second type of use is idiomatic rather than suspect, but for those who prefer a stronger element of logic in their language an alternative word such as surprisingly or unexpectedly might be preferable.