1
as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
giving the new guy at work her cell phone number—"in case of an emergency"—was just a flimflam to pique his romantic interest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in scams
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
just the latest Internet flimflam to get e-mail recipients to reveal bank account numbers and other personal information
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in cheats
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
everyone likes to think that they're too smart to be flimflammed by anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flimflams
Noun
-
The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025 -
Many suspect a spam call and don't pick up the phone, leading foundation staff to sometimes devise ruses.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Names, email addresses, birth dates and purchase history can be used to create highly convincing scams.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The report showed romance scams had the highest median dollar loss of all scam types at $6,099.—
Barbara White,
Kansas City Star,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
Noun
-
Officials say the scammers' schemes range from the savvy to the sloppy -- and all are brazen.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In Minnesota, investigators and journalists have raised serious questions about fraud schemes tied to networks that disproportionately benefited non-citizens, while the families actually paying into the system were left footing the bill.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The frauds have grown nearly in lockstep with the growth of the industry.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
-
There is absolutely no evidence that frauds of this type or anywhere near this scale are happening in any of the other four states, or frankly that there is a large volume of as-yet-undiscovered fraud in Minnesota itself.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This example of the latter skillfully squeezes a comfortable home for two into a single shipping container.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 Jan. 2026
-
As the moon follows an elliptical path, Saturn’s gravity stretches and squeezes it.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Across the other devices, both Mac and Wearables, Home & Accessories sales declined year over year, while the market anticipated slight growth.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Micro-robots and devices To demonstrate practical applications, the team fabricated several working devices.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Losing Sproat stings as a player the Mets drafted twice and developed into a big-league starter, but the right-hander out of the University of Florida is still unproven.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
January 20 – February 18 When pride stings, compassion clears the air.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
12 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Flimflams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flimflams. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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