defraud

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb defraud contrast with its synonyms?

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

When might cheat be a better fit than defraud?

While in some cases nearly identical to defraud, cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.

cheated me out of a dollar

When would cozen be a good substitute for defraud?

The words cozen and defraud can be used in similar contexts, but cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.

always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars

Where would swindle be a reasonable alternative to defraud?

In some situations, the words swindle and defraud 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 defraud Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who, in 1920, defrauded the modern-day equivalent of a quarter of a billion dollars. Peter White, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2025 What To Know Criminals have begun impersonating officials from the FBI's IC3 in a series of attacks targeting those who have already been defrauded, the agency warned in a public service announcement issued on April 18. Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025 These scams have been industrialized and are fast becoming the most likely way you’ll be defrauded. Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025 Property manager defrauds HOAs and bank out of $2.1M, uses money to gamble, feds say In Utah, Blake Floyd Cozzens has admitted to defrauding homeowners associations, tenants, and a Las Vegas bank out of more than $2.1 million, federal prosecutors say. Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for defraud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraud
Verb
  • Niemann, a grandmaster, beat Carlsen in an upset in a 2022 match, leading Carlsen to withdraw from the tournament and setting off wild speculation about whether Niemann could have cheated, though no such allegations were ever proven.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Neither team cheats for offense, every inch of ice is hard-earned.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • For years, researchers have been experimenting with quantization techniques that squeeze their neural network weights into smaller memory envelopes.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Mike Pavlik, whose family lived across the alley behind ours and who was the leadoff batter on our softball team, squeezed my arm.
    David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The White Sox used it last winter to make a significant addition, plucking right-hander Shane Smith from Milwaukee.
    Phil Rogers, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • That September, Kyle invited the team to an annual party with a few hundred of his friends, while producers plucked potential talent from the crowd.
    Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As tens of millions of Americans hustle to pay their taxes, Trump has put the entire global economy into chaos.
    Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2025
  • The girl called the police station one night and wound up talking to Liv, who kept her on the phone while the team hustled to try to figure out where she was being held.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Now Warning To All iPhone Users Google Pixel’s Unbeatable Upgrade—Bad News For Samsung Being stuck at No. 2 behind Lamar likely stings just a little more than usual for Drake.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • But China is also seeking to build tighter relationships in Asia with nations stung by Trump’s tariffs.
    Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Jurors found Peters guilty in August for using someone else’s security badge to give an expert affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system and deceiving other officials about that person’s identity.
    Colleen Slevin, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Stribling tried to deceive officers by saying Bailei was shot in a robbery, The Detroit News reported.
    Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Holmes, 41, was convicted on four counts of felony criminal fraud in early 2022 for bilking investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto, California, blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
    Mercury News, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
  • In 2024, Robert Michael Rambo, 63, was indicted on a third-degree felony theft charge after allegedly bilking friends, neighbors and business associates out of tens of thousands of dollars.
    Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The investigation highlighted data from the California State Chancellor’s Office, which estimated a quarter of community college applicants were bots in 2024, and that the bot army swindled the state and federal government out of $13 million in student aid in the 12 months ending in April.
    Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 20 Apr. 2025
  • On this week’s podcast, Mark Seal explains how amateur sleuths busted a multi-national cyber-scam April 12, 2025 This week, Mark Seal reveals the amateur detectives who busted a group of cyber-scammers who impersonated Brad Pitt and swindled a woman out of more than $850,000.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Defraud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defraud. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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