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
Still, defrauded Coloradans routinely lost thousands of dollars in these schemes.
—
Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Feeding Our Future defrauded the government of $250 million in federal funds from a pandemic-era meal program.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 19 Sep. 2025
Ballmer has stated that he was defrauded by Sanberg, who has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of fraud (Aspiration is bankrupt).
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
The suit accuses Haman of running an online retailer, Quba Pro Inc, that allegedly defrauded Cornerstone by raising money in a financing agreement and diverting the funds.
—Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
But the Love Con Revenge team hopes Ward’s case can inspire others who suspect they’re being defrauded to seek help sooner.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Also tied up in court is forgiveness under programs that allow borrowers to have their loans discharged if their school closed or defrauded them.
—Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The suit seeks to force Zelle to implement additional anti-fraud protections as well as pay restitution and damages to New York citizens who have been defrauded.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2025
The bill’s most significant changes are the reforms made America’s overgrown social safety net, which was being defrauded and treated like a piggy bank.
—Thomas Aiello, Boston Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Feeding Our Future defrauded the government of $250 million in federal funds from a pandemic-era meal program.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 19 Sep. 2025
Ballmer has stated that he was defrauded by Sanberg, who has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of fraud (Aspiration is bankrupt).
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
The suit accuses Haman of running an online retailer, Quba Pro Inc, that allegedly defrauded Cornerstone by raising money in a financing agreement and diverting the funds.
—Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
But the Love Con Revenge team hopes Ward’s case can inspire others who suspect they’re being defrauded to seek help sooner.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Also tied up in court is forgiveness under programs that allow borrowers to have their loans discharged if their school closed or defrauded them.
—Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The suit seeks to force Zelle to implement additional anti-fraud protections as well as pay restitution and damages to New York citizens who have been defrauded.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2025
The bill’s most significant changes are the reforms made America’s overgrown social safety net, which was being defrauded and treated like a piggy bank.
—Thomas Aiello, Boston Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauded
Verb
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Passed over to his hapless son (Dacre Montgomery), our (anti-)hero wires a shotgun to his head and takes him hostage, claiming that the organization’s business maneuvers cheated him out of a substantial fortune.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
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The woman lives alone, AFP added, citing local media outlets, and was ultimately cheated out of approximately 1 million yen, or about $6,700.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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At a family gathering in Huntsville, Alabama, I was stung by the divisive image on my 16-year-old relative’s T-shirt.—
Sabrina S. Fu,
Twin Cities,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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You got plucked from obscurity to do this project.—
Chris Lee,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Agents grabbed one man who appeared to be charging up the driveway, pinned him to the ground and hustled him behind the gate with his hands behind his back.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Boston Herald,
19 Sep. 2025
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Farnaz Farjam, one of the show’s executive producers, told Deadline that the production hustled to find a way to capture all three elements.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At those rates, without a significant change in policy or health care costs, the general fund would be squeezed to nearly nothing in the next 15 years, according to an analysis by the governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
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During the presidency of Richard Nixon, public servants at the DOJ felt squeezed between what the president wanted and what the law required.—
Carrie Johnson,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And then everyone else beyond those 35 million people also get screwed, because when all of that money gets pulled out of the health care system, prices go up for everyone, hospitals close.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
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And also just seeing and showing to folks that this corruption shows up in the bills that are passed that are then creating loopholes for special interests while you're getting screwed.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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You might be swindled or lied to.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
18 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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The lawsuit, filed by the FTC in June 2023 under the Biden administration, alleges 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,
23 Sep. 2025
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Soto and her twins say both families were deceived – their family in Chile and their adoptive parents in Italy who didn’t know the girls had been taken away from their biological mother without her consent.—
Rafael Romo,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defrauded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauded. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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