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defrauds

verb

present tense third-person singular of defraud
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauds
  1. cheats
  2. plucks
  3. squeezes
  4. hustles
  5. stings
  6. deceives
  7. victimizes
  8. beats
Verb
  • Any forward who cheats for defence, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has for much of his career, will play an elevated role on a Babcock team.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • Though Lesnar rarely cheats to win, Femi isn’t going to lose clean.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Definition of cheats
Verb
  • His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.
    — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
  • But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.
    — Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
Definition of plucks
Verb
  • People’s financial margin for error is generally pretty small, and just the rising cost of most everything just squeezes them more and more.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Avoiding outlier squeezes requires implementing strict criteria before entering trades.
    — David Capablanca, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of squeezes
Verb
  • Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.
    — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026
Definition of hustles
Verb
  • The pain of losing Hollywood actor Heath Ledger nearly 20 years ago still stings for his on-screen Dark Knight family.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
  • There is a feeling of humiliation that stings long after an event has passed.
    — Wilbert L. Cooper, Longreads, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of stings
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of deceives
Verb
  • 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
Definition of victimizes
Verb
  • Reacher beats mercenaries about the head with a bowling pin and a bowling trophy.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The Minnesota Vikings, the newest NFL franchise, beats the league’s oldest franchise, the Chicago Bears, 37-13 win in the season opener.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of beats

Browse Nearby Words

defrauding
defrauds
defray
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Cite this Entry

“Defrauds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauds. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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