as in cheats
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 defrauds
On the flip side, its tunnel-vision focus on the Murdaughs means that the non-Murdaugh, non-murder victims left in their wake, like Mallory and her family or the clients Alex defrauds at work, are reduced to symbols.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauds
Verb
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The top-two primary system also cheats voters by pushing all candidates onto one primary ballot.—
John Seiler,
Oc Register,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Inspired by real stories, Eva Marcille portrays a wife who miraculously cheats death after her husband’s (Tyler Lepley) betrayal in Pushed Off a Plane and Survived airing on February 28.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Carrera now plucks the melody in single notes.—
Peter Wayne Moe,
Longreads,
26 Mar. 2026
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But if Rick later plucks something from behind that rock at the fire, are others going to start poking around looking for stuff?—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy by denying it long-term cash flow.—
Michelle L. Price,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The waves, which were first used in Boston in 2011, help spread things out so that runners don’t have to walk after the start, when Main Street in Hopkinton squeezes to just 39 feet wide.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In games like Tuesday, when that deep postseason run seems realistic, UCLA pops the ball around on offense and communicates and hustles to overcome its deficiencies on defense.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Compared to the behemoth Acela, which hustles hundreds of thousands of riders between Boston, New York City, and Washington DC each month, Amtrak's Mardi Gras line is downright petite—just two 58-seat coaches, plus a café car and a 14-seat Business Class car.—
Kara Newman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And Jaden McDaniels was right, which stings even more.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
1 May 2026
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Nothing stings more than seeing a shipping fee tacked on top of an order that was already a splurge.—
Hannah Chubb,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The complaint also claims that the image deceives customers into thinking Lipa has endorsed the product and dilutes her brand identity.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
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The fragmentary Ni 12501 tablet from the Early Dynastic III period of Mesopotamia breaks off when Fox deceives the inhabitants of the netherworld in his quest to retrieve the storm god Ishkur.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Although South Africa’s devastatingly high crime rate victimizes all the country’s inhabitants, white South Africans are overall less likely than Black citizens to be crime’s victims.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Jean-Sebastien Giguere stops 35 shots for his third straight shutout, and Anaheim beats Minnesota 4-0 for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.—
Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
-
Nothing beats the feeling of getting a new laptop.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defrauds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauds. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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