Thesaurus results for SWINDLED

swindled

verb

past tense of swindle

as in cheated

to rob by the use of trickery or threats hundreds of people were swindled out of their savings, and all they had to show for it were fake land deeds

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 swindled 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 Holder was one of thousands of Americans swindled out of a total estimated at $20 billion by way of cyber theft in 2025, according to the FBI. —

Anna Schecter, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026 The seizures were the result of an investigation launched after Andress reported to Swiss authorities that she had been swindled out of assets by financial advisers. —

ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026 But according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Barbara, Ireland and her husband have been swindled out of their home equity and their life insurance policies, forced to sell their home, and left without substantial savings. —

Gene Maddaus, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026 Robin Williams was swindled a few times. —

Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026 Many indigenous groups on this continent whom settlers swindled, attacked, and displaced have a long history of using sweat lodges both for cleaning the body and in ritual. —

Madeline Leung Coleman, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2026 This was partly out of deference to a president who thinks not of enemies but only of potential counterparties to be bargained with, bullied, swindled, or accommodated. —

Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026 Some alleged Sunlight simply stopped working while the job was only partway completed; the rest said they were swindled out of downpayments and ended up with nothing. —

Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swindled

Verb

But no matter the prodding, Terminus never wanted the patrons to feel cheated, so the games, while tricky, were winnable, and the prizes reasonable and fair.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Every town has its nostalgic spots—ice cream shops, deli counters, old-school diners—that seem to have cheated time.

— Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 May 2026