as in extortion
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services
the fleecing of the summer tourists seems to be a time-honored tradition on that resort island
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
swindlers who use the telephone to fleece senior citizens out of their savings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fleecing
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
After the property sale, Graham started fleecing his mother while transferring money from her New York bank and brokerage accounts into his own checking account in Miami, according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleecing
Noun
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The group also reportedly released an extortion note on a data leaks site earlier this month.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Tompkins, 67, of Boston, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of extortion under color of official right.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But things got particularly ugly in the most recent reunion episode, in which Adriana de Moura not only leaned on lesbophobic and biphobic rhetoric, but also claimed that Julia Lemigova (who is famously married to renowned TERF Martina Navratilova) has been cheating for years.—
James Factora,
Them.,
10 Oct. 2025
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Then de Moura decided to drop a few bombshells of her own, accusing her former bestie of not just cheating with her but with two men.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The only tactics barred were eye gouging, groin strikes, and biting, none of which was especially policed.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
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Even if what Weyland-Yutani has is blood-sucking, eye-gouging, and chest-bursting alien monsters.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Record high inflation and a weak yen are also squeezing households and driving up living costs.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
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All the while, overall streaming growth has slowed in recent years, squeezing artists’ margins even further.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But in January, Axon CEO and billionaire cofounder Rick Smith killed their deal, accusing Flock of overcharging and trying to lock customers into its products.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Normally, the ions slip between the atomic layers of the anode, a process called intercalation, but when the space between the layers is all filled up—as can happen during overcharging—there’s nowhere else for the lithium to go but onto the surface.—
Weiyang Li,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Aug. 2018
Verb
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When not plucking away at a keyboard, Madison teaches yoga and mountain bikes with her two Australian shepherds, Cholla and Poppy, through Missoula's Rattlesnake Wilderness.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
6 Oct. 2025
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Simply plucking young stars from viewers’ social-media feeds won’t radically alter or refresh SNL.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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From rushing out of the office to get party-ready, or hustling through the airport and reuniting with loved ones, to finally arriving at a glamorous night out with friends, each scene conveys merriment and personal style set against the backdrop of New York City.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
14 Oct. 2025
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Alongside her siblings, one of her first moments hustling was selling drinks to visitors who were on vacation.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The production was plagued by hurricanes, tsunami warnings, stinging jellyfish and several injuries — including Costner, who almost died while riding out a storm stranded atop a mast after his safety line had snapped.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
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Andreas Helmersen hit the bar while Patrick Berg’s stinging effort was saved by Guglielmo Vicario.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fleecing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleecing. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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