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

• dishonest
• false
• deceptive

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

The monetary loss for each false negative, such as when a model fails to flag a fraudulent transaction. —Eric Siegel, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Highland Village claims Vides used his position to issue fraudulent payments to himself and worked with several business entities, including Will Vides Properties LLC and WV Systems LLC, to conceal the funds. —Doc Louallen, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025

The company, Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization, or OPTO, submitted 21 fraudulent contracts and invoices to Arrow for work that was never performed, according to authorities. —Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 9 Sep. 2025

Mobile security apps can block fraudulent sites, warn you before downloads and protect against malicious QR code attacks. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025

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