fraudulent

adjective

fraud·​u·​lent ˈfrȯ-jə-lənt 

: characterized by, based on, or done by fraud : deceitful

fraudulent use of a credit card

fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation

—Wall Street Journal

fraudulently adverb

fraudulentness noun

Synonyms

• crooked
• deceitful
• defrauding
• dishonest
• double-dealing
• false

Examples of fraudulent in a Sentence

Corrupt leaders were chosen in a fraudulent election.

fraudulent use of a credit card

the victim of a fraudulent scheme

Recent Examples on the Web

Officers at the East L.A. station claimed at least $360,000 worth of fraudulent overtime, Garrett said. —Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2024

Congressional leaders accused him of fraudulent research practices. —Stephanie Hanes, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2024

And there’s no evidence that those states are more likely to have fraudulent elections because of their return window. —Ashley Lopez, NPR, 6 June 2024

He was charged in December by a federal grand jury in California with evasion of a tax assessment, failure to file and pay taxes, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return. —Brian Bennett, TIME, 3 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fraudulent

adjective

fraud·​u·​lent ˈfrȯ-jə-lənt 

: based on or done by fraud

fraudulently adverb

fraudulentness noun

Legal Definition

fraudulent

adjective

fraud·​u·​lent

: characterized by, based on, or done by fraud compare deceptive, false, misleading

fraudulently adverb