as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
senior citizens generally were too smart to fall for the fast-talking salesman's attempts to defraud them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defraud
In April, Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice had arrested five people in connection with a major health care scheme in Southern California that defrauded taxpayers of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.
—
Noe Padilla, USA Today, 13 May 2026
He is accused, among other things, of defrauding many of Banco Master's 800,000 clients, including several state government pension funds, out of hundreds of millions of dollars by convincing them to make shady investments.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The complaint accuses the social networking giant of defrauding seniors and families with scam ads, which the company allegedly tracks.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 11 May 2026
The suspects, eight women and one man, face various charges of defrauding the state health plan in values over $1,500, committing identity fraud and making false statements in an application for public assistance.
—Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Noe Padilla, USA Today, 13 May 2026
He is accused, among other things, of defrauding many of Banco Master's 800,000 clients, including several state government pension funds, out of hundreds of millions of dollars by convincing them to make shady investments.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The complaint accuses the social networking giant of defrauding seniors and families with scam ads, which the company allegedly tracks.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 11 May 2026
The suspects, eight women and one man, face various charges of defrauding the state health plan in values over $1,500, committing identity fraud and making false statements in an application for public assistance.
—Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraud
Verb
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But a subtler disruption is occurring underneath the cheating concerns and efficiency metrics.—
Shannon McKeen,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Saints tried to cheat to get the win, but referee Charles Robinson caught him and stopped his count.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
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On the Right, Israel is being squeezed by a smaller faction of the Make America Great Again movement that wants to pare back all American foreign aid.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
16 May 2026
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Gas prices are continuing to squeeze drivers at the pump.—
Claire Malon,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The purpose was to attract buyers and visitors to a city that seemed to be plucked out of a storybook.—
Joshua Ceballos,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
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The rounds came and went, one linebacker after another plucked off the board in front of him.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Napoleon Solo hustled to first place at the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, coming out on top against 13 other horses in what is the race's biggest field in 15 years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
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Related Stories Laird plays Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, a daughter of the lower-middle classes who uses her skills as a portrait painter to hustle her way into the royal court of Versailles.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Despite Philadelphia winning 45 games this season, despite the Sixers improving dramatically on last season, and despite Philly winning a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, the loss to New York will still sting, as Philadelphia heads into the summer.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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Now owned by the National Gallery in London, the painting, showing Roman god Cupid complaining to his mother Venus about being stung by bees, can be seen in the center of a blurry, black-and-white photograph dating to the 1940s that was published in a 1978 furniture catalog.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
11 May 2026
Verb
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He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2026
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For Arjun Singri, founder of Scamless, this has created a new kind of digital arms race, where the same technology driving progress is also being used to deceive people at scale.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Verb
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In 2019, a couple was charged with embezzlement and exploiting the elderly for bilking buyers in six Western North Carolina counties out of millions of dollars for log homes.—
Amber Gaudet,
Charlotte Observer,
14 May 2026
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Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison, however, after being sentenced on dozens of state and federal charges for bilking millions from his former law firm and clients for more than a decade.—
Pilar Melendez,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Verb
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His initial 37-count indictment accused him of swindling investors of tens of millions of dollars, lying to financial institutions to obtain funds to buy a luxury yacht and failing to pay millions in personal and payroll taxes.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2026
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After over a decade of partnership, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for more than $130 billion, alleging that Altman and OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman swindled him and betrayed the company’s founding charitable mission.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defraud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defraud. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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