cheating 1 of 3

noun

1
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery a conscienceless adventuress who never earned anything except through cheating

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adultery
a sexual encounter or relationship between a married person and someone other than their spouse she swore that if there was ever any cheating, she'd leave in a heartbeat

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cheating

2 of 3

adjective

as in dishonest

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Dissimilar Words

cheating

3 of 3

verb

present participle of cheat
1
as in misrepresenting
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal students who cheat on tests end up never knowing anything

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2
as in lying
to be sexually unfaithful he suspects that his girlfriend is cheating on him

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3
as in disappointing
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in hustling
to rob by the use of trickery or threats a despicable confidence man who heartlessly cheated elderly people out of their savings

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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 cheating
Noun
Manchester City, one of the most successful teams in the world in recent years, has been found guilty of systematically cheating – financially doping its way to dominance for the best part of a decade. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026 Practically everyone, regardless of political affiliation, must understand by now that there simply is no evidence of widespread — significant, meaningful — voter cheating in California or anywhere else in America. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026 Now there seems to be a petty attempt to call out cheating when no cheating took place. — Matt Calkins Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026 Almost a quarter of the agents (24%) refused to cheat and tried to alert others to the cheating in the hopes of stopping it. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026 Afterward, the internet went wild with accusations of cheating, nepotism, and more. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 Still another cheating method under consideration was to gain access to the Internet, where the agents could do research. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026 That said, using a chatbot to write without disclosing its use can still be a form of cheating. — Roger J. Kreuz, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026 Professors have encountered demonstrable issues with widespread cheating, with many forced to devise their own methods for eliminating unethical AI use. — Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Adjective
The solution, therefore, cannot rely solely on punitive anti-cheating measures or intrusive surveillance technologies. — Jason Benedict, Fortune, 7 July 2026
Verb
Now there seems to be a petty attempt to call out cheating when no cheating took place. — Matt Calkins Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026 Around this time, Kingsolver was accused of cheating in a regional essay contest. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026 After a 7-6 debut season as the Volunteers head coach in 2009, Kiffin endeared himself to the Tennessee fan base by accusing former Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating during a recruiting battle. — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026 Blatant, in-your-face lying, cheating and stealing is the norm. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026 Alongside the advances of Chinese models, however, came ever louder US accusations of cheating. — John Liu, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026 Not since early Vanderpump Rules have we been so blessed by morally bankrupt individuals being so willing to televise their cheating (key word being willing). — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026 So, when a candidate uses AI to get past a system built entirely of AI, is that cheating? — Ranjay Sarda, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026 The cheating scandal broke the internet and became a pop culture talking point. — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheating
  1. deception
  2. adultery
  3. dishonest
  4. misrepresenting
  5. lying
  6. disappointing
  7. hustling
  8. fraud
Noun
  • Magpies are opportunistic scavengers, incredibly cunning and deceitful and capable of calculated deception.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • This experience combines identity deception, autonomous agent action and software supply-chain risk, along with social engineering devised by an agent and directed against a human.
    — Carlo Tortora Brayda, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • The Royal Family, whose relations with Spencer have long been strained, are said to fear the book could contain numerous bombshells about Charles and Diana’s relationship, which was infamously plagued by adultery and acrimony.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Its citizens held slaves, some of whom were shackled for committing adultery.
    — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of adultery
Adjective
  • Denigrating the relationship—deciding, for instance, that the rejecter was evil, dishonest, unworthy of your respect or time— devalues your own history, in effect consigning the whole relationship to the trash bin.
    — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Only someone very comfortable, or very dishonest, would pretend the fantasy has no appeal.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of dishonest
Verb
  • Settlement talks collapsed in late August after Bonta accused Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting their discussions.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • At that public meeting, several parents said Adams should have been fired for misleading them and misrepresenting the condition of the Earl Warren ATP facilities.
    — Marsha Sutton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of misrepresenting
Verb
  • Stephens' reaction to the play, while Moore was lying lifeless on the turf, was even more brutal.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Hamilton’s campaign, in response, said Marshall was lying about the ad and called on the Republican senator to release all records in the case involving his former patient.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of lying
Verb
  • Some of these states, including Ascherson’s beloved Poland, hastily transitioned to market economies, sorely disappointing him.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Demand was high and supply was low, so companies and distilleries started removing age statements from labels, disappointing their dedicated fans.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of disappointing
Verb
  • Besides Instagram hustling and scouring job boards, entrepreneurial editors find gigs when creators call out for help.
    — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026
Definition of hustling
Noun
  • Theranos turned out to be a fraud, will be moved from her current minimum-security prison to a halfway house next year to finish out her prison term, officials said.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Additionally, DeSantis announced the creation of a new national group of election officials, with the aim of installing Florida’s legal changes designed to prevent voter fraud and crack down on those who vote illegally.
    — Gray Rohrer, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of fraud

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Cite this Entry

“Cheating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheating. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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