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

Why Amazon Prime Day scammers are winning and how to stay ahead While Amazon hasn't released a formal statement yet, the company maintains ongoing efforts to detect and remove fraudulent listings and suspicious domains. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025

Republished on July 4 with further police and federal agency warnings that fraudulent callers are now targeting smartphone users in the U.S. This is not the FBI. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025

The indictment alleges that Telford created fake trust entities in order to obtain fraudulent refunds from the IRS. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2025

Cash App users who qualify for the settlement include: Consumers who did not receive refunds to which they were entitled for fraudulent transactions. —Shelby Slade, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 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