as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
every new technology has brought with it a raft of defrauding schemes that make full use of it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in cheating
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in swindling
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defrauding
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Her alleged defrauding of the Jackson Health Foundation, however, extended well beyond Miami, according to an indictment and other court records.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Aspiration, whose founder Joseph Sanberg recently pled guilty to defrauding investors and lenders, filed for bankruptcy in March, with the Clippers listed as the company’s largest creditor with over $30 million owed.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Loans are also sometimes discharged in cases of schools defrauding students.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
The Star previously reported that the Republican candidate for governor has been accused by his former running mate, April McCoy, of defrauding a campaign supporter by soliciting a $2,700 donation for software and pocketing the money.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025
Walton tapped into his journalist roots and began his own investigation, which ultimately resulted in his con artist being found guilty of defrauding him.
—Forbestv, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
She, too, was accused of defrauding a local cannabis company.
—Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Prosecutors accused them of defrauding victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods bought with fraudulent documents.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
Sean Kingston was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Friday after he and his mother were convicted of defrauding multiple vendors of more than $1 million in luxury items ranging from high-end watches to a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
And what could be more legitimate of a cause for removing a governor of the nation's central bank—which is, among other things, the lender of last resort to the country's financial institutions—than the alleged defrauding of those very financial institutions?
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Her alleged defrauding of the Jackson Health Foundation, however, extended well beyond Miami, according to an indictment and other court records.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
He was eventually sentenced to six years in jail for defrauding investors.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Aspiration, whose founder Joseph Sanberg recently pled guilty to defrauding investors and lenders, filed for bankruptcy in March, with the Clippers listed as the company’s largest creditor with over $30 million owed.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Loans are also sometimes discharged in cases of schools defrauding students.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
The Star previously reported that the Republican candidate for governor has been accused by his former running mate, April McCoy, of defrauding a campaign supporter by soliciting a $2,700 donation for software and pocketing the money.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025
Walton tapped into his journalist roots and began his own investigation, which ultimately resulted in his con artist being found guilty of defrauding him.
—Forbestv, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
She, too, was accused of defrauding a local cannabis company.
—Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Prosecutors accused them of defrauding victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods bought with fraudulent documents.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
Sean Kingston was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Friday after he and his mother were convicted of defrauding multiple vendors of more than $1 million in luxury items ranging from high-end watches to a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauding
Adjective
-
Businesses/nominees cannot obtain votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
-
After a long process of validating legitimate claims and tossing out the ones that were fraudulent or duplicative, Angeion, the company in charge of distributing the payments, has finished its calculations determining how much each individual will get as payments go out starting this month.—
Alix Martichoux,
The Hill,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
There are things worse than cheating.—
Essence,
Essence,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported an uptick in the sale of blue books as a safeguard in testing to avoid students using AI for cheating.—
Laurel Donnellan,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Industry groups insist that they are committed to weeding out dishonest companies that make false claims or sell dangerous products.—
Suzy Khimm,
NBC news,
26 Aug. 2025
-
No, it was done to protect dishonest businesses.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
That could be due to tariffs squeezing automakers, disincentivizing them from giving discounts.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
-
This could be done by either squeezing the regular season even tighter with more midweek fixtures or putting the Wembley final back a week.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The false assurance was more than a slip.—
Eric Tucker,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigration English Defence League (EDL), was released from prison earlier this year, having been jailed for being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of hustling for one-day bookings, Patel engineered a system where one client often meant three to five events—maximizing return and loyalty.—
Sindhya Valloppillil,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Four astronauts returned to Earth after hustling to the International Space Station five months ago to relieve the stuck test pilots of Boeing’s Starliner.—
Jeremy Mikula,
NBC news,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When not plucking away at a keyboard, Madison teaches yoga and mountain bikes with her two Australian shepherds, Cholla and Poppy, through Missoula's Rattlesnake Wilderness.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
29 Aug. 2025
-
It’s haltingly played, like a child plucking out the notes, to emphasize John’s deep connection to his daughter.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
It’s revealed that Sklar was Lori’s inspiration as a child to become an artist, only to crush that spark a dozen or so years later with stinging cruelty.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Perhaps the loss, coupled with seeing Parsons thrive in Green Bay as the Packers get off to a hot start, is stinging the Cowboys’ top cornerback in Week 1.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defrauding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauding. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share