as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
senior citizens generally were too smart to fall for the fast-talking salesman's attempts to defraud them
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Recent Examples of defrauded
Authorities said Kates defrauded the state Department of Labor of $217,056 by filing fraudulent unemployment applications with the agency for her family, acquaintances, and others, from March 2020 through May 2021.
—
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Things eventually come to a head back in Cairo, where local police arrest Roper and his team, only for the enraged buyers, who were defrauded due to Pine's intervention, to seize the convoy.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Tourists seeking to visit the Statue of Liberty were defrauded daily by unscrupulous ticket-hawkers pitching water tours departing miles away that charge high prices and can’t land on Liberty Island.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
Pandemic relief fraud The OIG reported closing two cases in fiscal year 2025 involving former CPS principals who defrauded pandemic relief programs, including one who received more than $41,000 in loans on top of her six-figure salary.
—Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
The state has already admitted to being defrauded of more than $55 billion in recent years by people who may not have been eligible for jobless claims.
—Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2026
Court records reviewed by the Minnesota Star Tribune, which has covered the story for more than a decade, indicate the amount defrauded is closer to $218 million.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2025
The group allegedly defrauded victims of at least $50,000 that night.
—Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Federal authorities launched an investigation, dubbed Operation Zhen Diagram, into a nationwide gambling ring allegedly involving members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families who allegedly defrauded unwitting victims of millions.
—Ryan Morik , Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Things eventually come to a head back in Cairo, where local police arrest Roper and his team, only for the enraged buyers, who were defrauded due to Pine's intervention, to seize the convoy.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Tourists seeking to visit the Statue of Liberty were defrauded daily by unscrupulous ticket-hawkers pitching water tours departing miles away that charge high prices and can’t land on Liberty Island.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
Pandemic relief fraud The OIG reported closing two cases in fiscal year 2025 involving former CPS principals who defrauded pandemic relief programs, including one who received more than $41,000 in loans on top of her six-figure salary.
—Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
The state has already admitted to being defrauded of more than $55 billion in recent years by people who may not have been eligible for jobless claims.
—Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2026
Court records reviewed by the Minnesota Star Tribune, which has covered the story for more than a decade, indicate the amount defrauded is closer to $218 million.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2025
The group allegedly defrauded victims of at least $50,000 that night.
—Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Federal authorities launched an investigation, dubbed Operation Zhen Diagram, into a nationwide gambling ring allegedly involving members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families who allegedly defrauded unwitting victims of millions.
—Ryan Morik , Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauded
Verb
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The tension resurfaced when her sister discovered her partner had cheated again and asked to stay at the poster’s home with both children.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
31 Dec. 2025
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Every town has its nostalgic spots—ice cream shops, deli counters, old-school diners—that seem to have cheated time.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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An all-star cast plucked from different corners of the pop culture firmament leads Ryan Murphy's All's Fair, a Hulu legal drama about female divorce attorneys who open their own practice.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
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Such is life in Marthaland, where homemaking tasks are plucked from the realm of everyday drudgery and elevated to a pure pursuit of excellence.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tuesday’s loss in Orlando stung a little more for the Miami Heat than the usual December loss during a long 82-game regular season.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
10 Dec. 2025
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But still, some losses have stung harder than others.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Mountain View Fire Rescue hustled to get to a fire caused by a power pole that blew down.—
Michael Abeyta,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
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My mother—an incredible single mom of four kids—just hustled.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
5 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The Panthers squeezed a few end-of-career seasons out of guys such as Dino Ciccarelli and Igor Larionov.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Steamer or Iron When squeezed into a small suitcase, clothes have a tendency to wrinkle.—
Abbey Hudetz,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And, as usual, the people with the fewest resources will get screwed.—
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
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No matter what Robert does, he’s totally screwed.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In 2016, it was revealed that a con man had swindled Nicole out of $10 million.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
12 Nov. 2025
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Black residents who got swindled out of land could not turn to the courts.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Your husband claims not to have known the weekend arrangements in advance, claiming you were both deceived — not only by his old friends, but by their wives, and by the single female neighbor.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The agency’s lawsuit asserts Instacart deceived consumers with false advertising, failure to provide refunds and unlawful subscription enrollment processes.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
19 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defrauded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauded. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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