cheat 1 of 2

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as in to disappoint
to fall short in satisfying the expectation or hope of the daredevil survived his plunge over the falls with barely a scratch, having cheated death once again

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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cheat

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb cheat contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of cheat are cozen, defraud, and swindle. While all these words mean "to get something by dishonesty or deception," cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.

cheated me out of a dollar

When can cozen be used instead of cheat?

The words cozen and cheat are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.

always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars

When is defraud a more appropriate choice than cheat?

The meanings of defraud and cheat largely overlap; however, defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.

defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer

Where would swindle be a reasonable alternative to cheat?

In some situations, the words swindle and cheat are roughly equivalent. However, swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.

swindled of their savings by con artists

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 cheat
Verb
What's this about a cheating scandal? Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025 The news also followed the aftermath of a cheating scandal that revealed a months-long affair between Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss behind Ariana Madix’s back. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
No one cheats like college football. Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025 Is Julia a liar, manipulator, and a cheat like Adriana says? Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cheat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheat
Verb
  • Translate all documents given to detainees into Spanish and refrain from misrepresenting their contents.
    Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Residents and local leaders have said that TCEQ misrepresented the nature of the intersection in a traffic study completed for the application.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Johanna Harwood stepped into the frame of the bedroom door, where Anna Petrov lay dead on the parquet beside the body of a guard.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025
  • In their game-deciding drives, the kind of two-minute drills franchise players produce, lies experience.
    Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • For an evening splurge, the theatrical restaurant Marble never disappoints.
    Emily Baldwin, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Most recently, the company’s third-quarter earnings report left a lot of investors disappointed about its strategic transition, with weaker-than-expected revenue and no specific financial guidance for the upcoming fiscal year.
    Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • As an architectural blacksmith, Guillory favored Japanese denim jeans—a balance of craftsmanship and professionalism—for client meetings squeezed between long days welding staircases and chandeliers.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 11 Nov. 2025
  • But their arrival has coincided with a spike in housing prices, which has squeezed many locals out of the market.
    Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • But my collection intentionally ignored the fraudulent exploits of billionaire heirs, tax dodgers and corporate magnates — defense contracts, government lobbying, bank accounts in Switzerland, shell companies in Panama, citizenship of Antigua and political asylum in London.
    Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Denise Rich, a Democratic donor, gave four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to his Presidential-library foundation, and Clinton, on his final day in office, pardoned her ex-husband, Marc Rich, a tax dodger and a sanctions evader who’d fled to Switzerland.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • As a result, the government is now forced to sell even more oil on the black market at a discount to evade US government sanctions, one of the economists in Caracas told CNN.
    Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
  • George Washington pardoned some of those involved in the Whiskey Rebellion, while Jimmy Carter granted a blanket pardon to people who had evaded service in the Vietnam War.
    NPR, NPR, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • White noise machines and humidifiers are frequently available, along with extra blankets, air purifiers, and blackout curtains or sleep masks.
    Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 10 Nov. 2025
  • McKenna posited that breastfeeding helped babies sleep more while increasing their milk supply and offering greater protection against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Defensive end Sam Williams blocked a Cardinals punt and Kneeland hustled to get the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
    Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Despite her injuries, Zwerner was able to hustle her students out of the classroom.
    NPR, NPR, 6 Nov. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cheat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheat. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

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