fraud

1 an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value thousands of people lost money when the investment scheme turned out to be a fraud Synonyms of fraud bunco (or bunko), con, fiddle [chiefly British], flimflam, gyp, hustle, scam, shell game, sting, swindle Words Related to fraud cross, fix; Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme; racket, rip-off; thimblerig, three-card monte; device, dodge, gimmick, jig, ploy, scheme, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile; gouging, overcharging, soaking; counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

2 one who makes false claims of identity or expertise the “blind” panhandler was just a fraud trying to con holiday shoppers out of their money Synonyms of fraud charlatan, fake, faker, fakir, impostor, hoaxer, humbug, mountebank, phony (also phoney), pretender, quack, quacksalver, ringer, shamWords Related to fraud copycat, imitator, impersonator, mimic; actor, bluffer, counterfeiter, deceiver, dissembler, duper, feigner, misleader, operator, trickster; poseur; cozener, defrauder, dodger, fraudster [chiefly British], scammer, scamster, sharper, sharpie (or sharpy), skinner, swindlerNear Antonyms of fraud ace, adept, authority, crackerjack (also crackajack), expert, maestro, master, past master, professional, virtuoso, whiz, wizard

3 the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery charges that he had gained control of his elderly mother's estate by fraud Synonyms of fraud artifice, cheating, cozenage, craft, craftiness, crookedness, crookery, cunning, cunningness, deceitfulness, deception, deceptiveness, dishonesty, dissembling, dissimulation, double-dealing, dupery, duplicity, fakery, foxiness, deceit, guile, guilefulness, wilinessWords Related to fraud equivocation, lying, mendacity, prevarication; chicane, chicanery, fraudulence, hanky-panky, jugglery, legerdemain, mountebankery, obliquity, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery, wile; falsehood, falsity, fib, untruth; hypocrisy, insincerity, sanctimoniousness, two-facedness; artfulness, caginess (also cageyness), deviousness, shrewdness; treacherousness, underhandedness, unscrupulousness; covertness, furtiveness, secrecy, shadiness, sneakiness, stealthiness; oiliness, shiftiness, slickness, slipperiness, slyness, smoothnessNear Antonyms of fraud candidness, candor, directness, frankness, openness, plainness, plainspokenness; honesty, probity; dependability, reliability, reliableness, solidity, trustability, trustiness, trustworthiness; decency, goodness, incorruptibility, integrity, righteousness, truthfulness, uprightness, virtuousnessAntonyms of fraud artlessness, forthrightness, good faith, guilelessness, ingenuousness, sincerity