fleeced

Definition of fleecednext
past tense of fleece

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 fleeced Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar is warning of another scam that fleeced local residents out of tens of thousands of dollars — this time targeting family members of inmates in the Bexar County jail. Saul Pink, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Feb. 2026 Mexican cartels have fleeced American victims for hundreds of millions of dollars through timeshare fraud over the decades, treasury officials said, targeted them through call centers staffed by English-speaking telemarketers. Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026 Compared with the ostensible consequences of the prisoner’s dilemma, getting fleeced in the snowdrift problem’s scenario isn’t quite as disastrous. Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026 Their false claims about getting financially fleeced by Uncle Sam were fueled by a rather sophisticated, albeit deceitful and shameful lobbying campaign, sponsored by greedy gadflies out to make a quick buck. Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026 Zach Harper basically wrote that Atlanta got fleeced here, though. Chris Branch, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026 So how does a front office this wary of getting fleeced tackle a deadline in which they’re meant to be major players? Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026 Donovan writes—the perception that men were being fleeced persisted. Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025 And scores of those victims were fleeced by scammers inside stores owned by Circle K, one of the crypto ATM industry’s biggest corporate partners. Curt Devine, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleeced
Verb
  • Even at Princeton, obviously, some students have always cheated.
    Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
  • To the curry-sphere and beyond Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world.
    Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 11 May 2026
Verb
  • There’s no trace of anything strummed or plucked; clusters of tone simply materialize out of thin air, as capricious as weather.
    Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 6 May 2026
  • He’s plucked employees from companies like Uber, Google, and Facebook to professionalize the place.
    Sean Gregory, Time, 6 May 2026
Verb
  • Dominguez hustled back to the wall and made a spectacular catch, but crashed incredibly hard into the wall.
    Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
  • Caminero led off with a walk, then hustled to third when Aranda followed with a single.
    Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026
Verb
  • Now owned by the National Gallery in London, the painting, showing Roman god Cupid complaining to his mother Venus about being stung by bees, can be seen in the center of a blurry, black-and-white photograph dating to the 1940s that was published in a 1978 furniture catalog.
    Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
  • Teng stung in fourth The Astros deployed Kai-Wei Teng as an opener for the second time this season.
    Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 10 May 2026
Verb
  • Meanwhile, American families are getting squeezed by high gas prices, unaffordable housing, soaring grocery bills and out-of-touch politicians who are more focused on woke ideology than on real solutions.
    Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
  • Geneva coach Brad Wendell knew that Kastor’s slow start last season squeezed him out of the lineup.
    Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026
Verb
  • If Miranda Priestly can get thrown in steerage, we’re all screwed.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
  • But that doesn’t mean working people aren’t getting screwed.
    Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • After over a decade of partnership, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for more than $130 billion, alleging that Altman and OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman swindled him and betrayed the company’s founding charitable mission.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Holder was one of thousands of Americans swindled out of a total estimated at $20 billion by way of cyber theft in 2025, according to the FBI.
    Anna Schecter, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The Frenchman is a front-footed middle man who gets stuck into tackles, is relatively press-resistant and will often resort to dribbling to get out of tight spots.
    Gregg Evans, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • Not to mention, the benefits stuck without longterm monitoring.
    Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 12 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fleeced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleeced. Accessed 15 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on fleeced

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster