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Can I use the verb delude in a passive form like in the following sentences?Do they sound colloquial? What other words can I use ?

People are deluded that all Canadians play and love ice-hockey.

Just because they visit in summertime, most foreign tourists are deluded Spain has hot weather all year.

What I mean here is that some people just assume without real experience or reading a reliable source.

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    I don't consider this a valid use of delude. In fact, I don't think there's any single-word verb that can carry the required sense here. More natural phrasing would be, for example, People are deluded if they think that all Canadians play and love ice-hokey, or perhaps People deluded themselves that all Canadians play and love ice-hokey, depending on the exact nuance intended. But in reality, if we believe OP's What I mean here..., the short answer is People mistakenly assume... - forget deluded unless you really want to launch an attack on such people.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 16:15
  • This might be helpful in understanding the nuances of "delude", even though it isn't an exact answer to your question: ell.stackexchange.com/q/34704/9161
    – ColleenV
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 16:24
  • You could say "Many people are under the illusion that all Canadians play and love ice-hockey." or "Because most foreign tourists visit Spain in the summer, they mistakenly assume that the weather is hot all year."
    – ColleenV
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 16:32
  • @ColleenV Could it be totally wrong if we say "Many people have a delusion that all Canadians play and love ice-hockey."
    – Mrt
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 20:02
  • I don't think it would be completely wrong but it might have a tone that is different from what you intend. If someone says you have a delusion there is a strong sense that there is something wrong with your mental ability - you're unable to perceive reality even though there is obvious evidence that what you believe isn't true.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 20:10

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If someone says you have a delusion there is a strong sense that there is something wrong with your mental ability; you're unable to perceive reality even though there is obvious evidence that what you believe isn't true. You would only use deluded or delusion if you were expressing that the belief is extremely and obviously wrong - so wrong in fact, that you find it hard to accept that anyone would believe such a thing. For example,

Some people still have the delusion that they can both protect their privacy on-line and participate in social networking when it's obvious that any company that profits from advertising can't be trusted with your personal details.

I think that either misled or mistaken would better capture the intended meaning of someone who has been tricked into believing something that isn't true, either by a person or by circumstances.

There are many ways to phrase the ideas in the example sentences; these are just to illustrate using misled and mistaken:

Many people have been misled into believing that all Canadians play and love ice-hockey.

Because most foreign tourists visit Spain in the summertime, they mistakenly believe that the weather is hot all year.

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