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
Relevance
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
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrauds
Verb
-
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
-
Blashill wants the Blackhawks to be a fast-pressure team at both ends of the rink, one that attacks vertically but never cheats for offense.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The first layer, called the Level-1 Trigger, or L1T, harvests 100,000 events per second, and the second layer, called the High-Level Trigger, or HLT, plucks 1,000 of those events to save for later analysis.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
-
From the metallic sheen of a beetle to the delicacy of a butterfly, Sandini described how Materia Futura plucks inspiration straight from nature.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Any tariff shift moves shipping volumes, squeezes supply chains, and eventually nudges consumer prices — but those ripples take time to reach shelves and paychecks.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
-
All this requires a lot of power, which puts a strain on the grid and squeezes local resources.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Most notably, watch here as backup center Oso Ighodaro shuts down Jalen Brunson’s final attempt to tie the score, then Grayson Allen deflects his pass, hustles into the backcourt and banks it off Mikal Bridges’ face and out of bounds.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That still stings 30 years later.—
Hank Tester,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
For the show’s devoted fanbase, the loss stings — but there’s no shortage of series ready to fill the void.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In a statement issued Friday, the commission accused X of using its 'blue checkmark' in a way that deceives users.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
5 Dec. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
For context, a McLaren 765LT supercar only beats that by two feet, and that has a freaking air brake.—
Andrew P. Collins,
The Drive,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Banking beats defense One of the major drivers of optimism in Europe last year was the defense bull run sparked by commitments from leaders , along with the NATO military alliance , to ramp up spending on security.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defrauds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrauds. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
