 Re: 2 questions
It's definitely that "deceive" has a very negative quality to it. If your job was to take me out shopping while people gathered for my surprise party, and you managed to pretend that you had no idea it was my birthday, you fooled me. It would be very to use "deceive" here.
Note that the adjective and noun forms are even more different.
His words were deceptive - they intentionally gave the wrong impression
His words were foolish - it was silly of him to say them (no sense of being untrue or leading to a wrong impression)
You can have a harmless deception (like taking me out and pretending you didn't know it was my birthday) - this doesn't necessarily have the negative sense that "deceive" does.
There's no corresponding word for "fool" |