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
California Department of Insurance Investigators said the suspects submitted insurance claims in 2024 that defrauded companies of $141,839.
—
Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
Mejia released a report April 2 that found a contractor had defrauded the city out of nearly $500,000 after receiving payment but failing to deliver the appropriate goods.
—City News Service, Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
Federal prosecutors allege that from 2019 to April 2026 Stefan Pildes, the organizer of SantaCon, defrauded tens of thousands of ticket-buying revelers and venue operators by promising proceeds would go to charities but instead used more than half of the money raised to line his pockets.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors said Pildes defrauded attendees and small business owners alike, pilfering funds to pay for extensive renovations on a lakefront property in New Jersey, concert tickets, luxury getaways, Michelin star meals and a sports car.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
The indictment alleges that from November 2019 through April 2026, Pildes defrauded tens of thousands of people through the event, which brings in around 25,000 attendees each year.
—Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors charged Said with racketeering and multiple counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle in connection with an alleged scheme that defrauded Minnesota’s Medicaid program of nearly $11 million, according to the criminal complaint.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2026
In a legal filing on Tuesday, Musk's lawyers laid out specific remedies their client is seeking if a judge and jury determine that Altman and OpenAI defrauded Musk, the world's richest person.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that OpenAI defrauded him as a donor by restructuring the business away from its nonprofit roots.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
Mejia released a report April 2 that found a contractor had defrauded the city out of nearly $500,000 after receiving payment but failing to deliver the appropriate goods.
—City News Service, Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
Federal prosecutors allege that from 2019 to April 2026 Stefan Pildes, the organizer of SantaCon, defrauded tens of thousands of ticket-buying revelers and venue operators by promising proceeds would go to charities but instead used more than half of the money raised to line his pockets.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors said Pildes defrauded attendees and small business owners alike, pilfering funds to pay for extensive renovations on a lakefront property in New Jersey, concert tickets, luxury getaways, Michelin star meals and a sports car.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
The indictment alleges that from November 2019 through April 2026, Pildes defrauded tens of thousands of people through the event, which brings in around 25,000 attendees each year.
—Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors charged Said with racketeering and multiple counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle in connection with an alleged scheme that defrauded Minnesota’s Medicaid program of nearly $11 million, according to the criminal complaint.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2026
In a legal filing on Tuesday, Musk's lawyers laid out specific remedies their client is seeking if a judge and jury determine that Altman and OpenAI defrauded Musk, the world's richest person.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that OpenAI defrauded him as a donor by restructuring the business away from its nonprofit roots.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauded
Verb
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Schiller is a man who cheated death and whose harrowing ordeal is dramatized by actor Tony Shalhoub in a recent movie.—
Troy Roberts,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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The chat room was on fire, because Magnus Carlsen had lost to the kid—Hans Niemann—and then implied that Hans had cheated.—
Ben Mezrich,
Vanity Fair,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Beaufort, North Carolina This fishing village with century-old homes, idyllic marinas, and pristine beaches could be plucked from a vintage postcard.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
17 Apr. 2026
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With its cast of characters essentially plucked from Fugard’s early life in Port Elizabeth, the play introduces Hally (a stand-in for Fugard) at a crossroads.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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People have reported severe reactions, including anaphylaxis, after being stung by the ant.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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Anthropic leaks its code; Mercor stung by data breach.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up to the players.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
12 Apr. 2026
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Senior forward Amanda Ratz, a first-year varsity player, hustled to get to the ball, and then the Huskies were off to the races on a counterattack.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Sudhir Srivastava, vice president of the Noida Entrepreneurs Association, said manufacturers were being squeezed from multiple directions.—
Mayu Saini,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Bottom line Private credit’s share of overall financing in the US economy has grown, and when that growth slows or stops, small businesses with few other options get squeezed.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Apr. 2026
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A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The seizures were the result of an investigation launched after Andress reported to Swiss authorities that she had been swindled out of assets by financial advisers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
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But according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Barbara, Ireland and her husband have been swindled out of their home equity and their life insurance policies, forced to sell their home, and left without substantial savings.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The firm says it was deceived again in June 2022, when IQHQ restructured and moved investor interests into a Delaware limited partnership structure.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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Klipsch Austin Portable Bluetooth Speaker Deal Don't be deceived by the small Klipsch Austin portable speaker.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defrauded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauded. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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