as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
every new technology has brought with it a raft of defrauding schemes that make full use of it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in swindling
Related Words
as in cheating
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 defrauding
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 Dec. 2025
And what could be more legitimate of a cause for removing a governor of the nation's central bank—which is, among other things, the lender of last resort to the country's financial institutions—than the alleged defrauding of those very financial institutions?
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2026
AllHere’s founder was arrested and accused of defrauding investors of nearly $10 million by inflating her company’s revenue and customer numbers.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
In the posts, de Hek called out Goliath as a Ponzi scheme defrauding its investors.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2026
Jacobson, 55, of Branford was arrested by Connecticut State Police on charges including two counts of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Federal prosecutors in New York charged its former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin for defrauding investors of nearly $10 million.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
First Brands founders charged First Brands Group founder Patrick James and his brother Edward were charged in New York with allegedly defrauding lenders of billions of dollars before the auto parts company filed for bankruptcy.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
During the six years, prosecutors said, the pair used their positions to capitalize on a racketeering enterprise defrauding the state, IRS and union members.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 19 Feb. 2026
But Manhattan prosecutors said Barreto then went a step further, defrauding the state by uploading a fake deed to a city website that purported to transfer ownership of the entire building to himself.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Noun
Her defrauding of the Foundation, however, surpassed that figure as FBI agents dug deeper into her theft.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 Dec. 2025
And what could be more legitimate of a cause for removing a governor of the nation's central bank—which is, among other things, the lender of last resort to the country's financial institutions—than the alleged defrauding of those very financial institutions?
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
Robert Clifton, who was engaged in multiple civil lawsuits for allegedly defrauding investors of real estate projects, is currently in federal custody.
—Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2026
AllHere’s founder was arrested and accused of defrauding investors of nearly $10 million by inflating her company’s revenue and customer numbers.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
In the posts, de Hek called out Goliath as a Ponzi scheme defrauding its investors.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2026
Jacobson, 55, of Branford was arrested by Connecticut State Police on charges including two counts of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Federal prosecutors in New York charged its former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin for defrauding investors of nearly $10 million.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
First Brands founders charged First Brands Group founder Patrick James and his brother Edward were charged in New York with allegedly defrauding lenders of billions of dollars before the auto parts company filed for bankruptcy.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
During the six years, prosecutors said, the pair used their positions to capitalize on a racketeering enterprise defrauding the state, IRS and union members.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 19 Feb. 2026
But Manhattan prosecutors said Barreto then went a step further, defrauding the state by uploading a fake deed to a city website that purported to transfer ownership of the entire building to himself.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauding
Adjective
-
California has paid roughly $20 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits to scammers, about 11% of all benefits distributed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said this week.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Over a 14-year period from 2012 to 2016, hundreds of thousands of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank employees opened millions of unauthorized or fraudulent accounts and other financial products to meet excessive sales goals.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her lawyers, Giuseppe Iannaccone and Marcello Bana, have denied there was a case of grand larceny, which would include fraud and swindling.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Billionaire Ronald Burkle is suing political power-broker Darius Anderson, accusing his former protégé and friend of cheating him out of millions of dollars.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
An Arsenal throw-in on their right-hand side, in the 14th minute, prompts chants of ‘Same old Arsenal, always cheating’ as the clock ticks away.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
More and more people are avoiding dating or befriending those with opposing political views, and growing numbers describe those on the other side as closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent.—
Justin Callais,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
His judgments about the characters—both famous and obscure—who mattered in this low, dishonest era are always persuasive.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Other business leaders have trialed, but then dialed back, four-day work week experiments after seeing the strain of squeezing five days of work into four.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The business has been brutal for the last couple of years — the pandemic, the strikes, the profit squeezing that led to a bunch of reduced production.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Richards and the governor’s office pushed back on false assertions that Newsom and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were stealing money from the state through her office that same day.—
Taryn Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Air power cannot overthrow a government, some say, which is on one level true—a fighter jet cannot take the keys to the presidential palace, after all—and on another level, obviously false.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Those were full-time pharmacists, realtors and teachers hustling across Olympic ice for Team USA.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2026
-
How does Mick Cronin survive this, sending his own player off the court after hustling hard on defense to get a piece of the ball but unfortunately too much contact and drew a foul.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Archive footage viewed on old VHS tapes and Super-8 film reveals that Cook was a talented and charismatic musician, plucking away at his Gibson while singing blues standards or original material.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Broten remembers Pavelich plucking his guitar and singing Neil Young songs on bus rides.—
Stephen Whyno,
Twin Cities,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defrauding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauding. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
