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 She is being held at the same facility as disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for defrauding investors with her medical startup. Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2025 The founder of Frank was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan. Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025 Part of sale to pay restitution In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for engaging in several fraudulent schemes related to Fyre Festival, including defrauding investors out of $26 million and more than $100,000 in fraudulent ticket-selling schemes. Greta Cross, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025 Recent incidents, such as fraudsters using deepfake videos of celebrity diver Quan Hongchan to defraud tens of thousands, have heightened public awareness and anxiety. Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for defraud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraud
Verb
  • Job interviews are getting complicated in the age of AI, as ways to cheat the process proliferate.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025
  • But in the premiere, his relentless enthusiasm and chipper choice to cheat won me over.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Reds squeezed into the third wild-card slot for their first playoff appearance in five years.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Some people who have bought homes in the last few years feel squeezed by monthly payments that leave little cash left over.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Ortega, 22, hit the red carpet in a look plucked straight from Givenchy's runway show, which featured several oversized jewels that draped against her chest and upper body.
    Starr Bowenbank, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
  • You got plucked from obscurity to do this project.
    Chris Lee, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Jackson hustles to his seat in the audience, dead center, behind the main cameras as the chat begins.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
  • The costume department hustles to reattach a limping sole as the star breathes through the heat.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • These pretty pink jellyfish are carnivorous and have stinging tentacles that can reach up to 70 feet long.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Congressional Democrats feel stung by the mass layoffs and program cuts that followed the last stopgap spending deal in March.
    Ronald J. Hansen, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The lawsuit, filed by the FTC in June 2023 under the Biden administration, claimed that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for its Prime subscription program and sabotaged their attempts to cancel it.
    Annie Palmer, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2025
  • At its worst, AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners, push ‘slop’ into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers.
    Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Although Sean Kingston was sentenced to prison for three and a half years for bilking jewelers and other businesses out of more than $1 million, the popular South Florida reggae-pop singer only has to pay back $38,500 to a victim, a federal judge has ruled.
    Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Scammers are trying to use the San Diego Superior Court to bilk people out of money with fraudulent court orders and other fake court documents, prompting court officials to warn the public to carefully scrutinize these phony requests for cash.
    City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • You might be swindled or lied to.
    Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Following the 2022 raid, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a forfeiture motion for almost $150,000, claiming the church and its Bible seminary swindled hundreds of military members out of more than $22 million.
    Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

More from Merriam-Webster on defraud

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!