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
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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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Protesters who spoke with Reuters railed against the extortion and violence common in Michoacán, where lemon and avocado farmers are often forced to pay exorbitant bribes to drug trafficking groups.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
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Justin Baldoni's lawsuit officially ends months after dismissal The case's termination comes four months after Judge Liman granted a motion for dismissal from Lively's legal team because Baldoni's claims of civil extortion, defamation and false light did not hold up under the law.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 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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The thick elastic waistband fits snugly without squeezing, and the wide legs are flowy and casual, giving even more movement with subtle pleats at the front.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Nov. 2025
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Raise your arms, legs and head (in a neutral position) off the mat, squeezing your glutes and bracing your core.—
Leoni Jesner,
Health,
1 Nov. 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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In his new memoir The Uncool, which hits bookshelves today, the rock journalist and director behind films such as Almost Famous and Elizabethtown recalls his experience calling up Grant and Ball as a teenager after plucking their numbers from his friend and fellow journalist's address book.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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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,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On Canal Street on Thursday morning, lost tourists tripped over commuters hustling out of the subway, the grates on the souvenir stores went up, but most of the street vendors were still missing.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
23 Oct. 2025
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The on-field swings were such a rarity that he was cheered on by Roberts, the Dodgers’ coaching staff and a handful of teammates and his walkup song (Michael Buble’s ‘Feeling Good’) blasted from the sound system briefly, sending photographers and cameramen hustling into action.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Seawater keeps the jellyfish’s stinging capsules inert.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
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On the other side, the investigative news site Mediapart, which first broke news of Sarkozy’s Libya link, and other progressive titles delivered stinging editorials on his conduct.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fleecing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleecing. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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