as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
was shortchanged out of a promotion
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Recent Examples of shortchanged
Separateness was scrupulously honored and enforced, but equality was shortchanged with impunity.
—
Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
The potential benefits would go to education, in particular, as well as to health care, child care and a slew of other state services that Democrats say have been shortchanged by a system that has been largely untouched for nearly 20 years.
—The Denver Post, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Still, breakfast shifts are often underestimated and shouldn't be shortchanged, Sheik added.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The money is supposed to follow the student, but the Auditor General of Florida found public schools shortchanged by $100 million.
—Don Gaetz, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2026
An article from The Star in 2017 said the two began conceptualizing the store in 2015 after noticing men were being shortchanged in the retail industry.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 30 Dec. 2025
Other typically snowy areas have been shortchanged so far.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
Badly shortchanged by its pandemic release, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel is still one of the director’s most underrated efforts.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 Nov. 2025
New research suggests American passengers are already getting shortchanged because of lax regulation.
—Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
The potential benefits would go to education, in particular, as well as to health care, child care and a slew of other state services that Democrats say have been shortchanged by a system that has been largely untouched for nearly 20 years.
—The Denver Post, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Still, breakfast shifts are often underestimated and shouldn't be shortchanged, Sheik added.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The money is supposed to follow the student, but the Auditor General of Florida found public schools shortchanged by $100 million.
—Don Gaetz, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2026
An article from The Star in 2017 said the two began conceptualizing the store in 2015 after noticing men were being shortchanged in the retail industry.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 30 Dec. 2025
Other typically snowy areas have been shortchanged so far.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
Badly shortchanged by its pandemic release, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel is still one of the director’s most underrated efforts.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 Nov. 2025
New research suggests American passengers are already getting shortchanged because of lax regulation.
—Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortchanged
Verb
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Some people like to vote on election day, said Dianne Clinkscale from Dallas, arguing that the county’s voters got cheated out their right on to vote.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Mar. 2026
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Visitors to the sites at Independence Park were cheated when they were cut off from facts that enable us to imagine ourselves in the lives of those who lived and worked there.—
Carol Quillen,
Time,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Early in the second period, just after Greaves got caught out of the net while playing a puck to his right, Provorov hustled to the other side of the net and sprawled across the ice, blocking a shot by Florida’s Tomas Nosek that would have tied the score at 1.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The Ducks’ fourth line toiled low in the zone, and after the Jets hustled to avert the threat there, Trouba’s ostensibly harmless fling from the far corner found the net, appearing to hit Winnipeg defenseman Ville Heinola’s stick first.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When residents are this squeezed, City Hall’s predictable response has been to charge us more.—
Bradley Schnell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The 2012 draft brought a decent linebacker in Olivier Vernon and squeezed one 1,00-yard season from running back Lamar Miller.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On Tuesday, facing reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes in an exhibition against Team USA, McCray stung a line drive the opposite way for a loud out.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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After the match, that loss really stung.—
Bobby Narang,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The European flax bedding comes embellished with a crocheted seam just above the ruffled edge and looks like it was plucked right out of a Victorian trousseau.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Feb. 2026
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Rather than wait on her line tho, Sesno smartly came forward and plucked the ball out of the air before a shot could be taken.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Harper is thrilled, Whitney is screwed.—
Meg Walters,
Glamour,
2 Mar. 2026
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You just got screwed over by a duo!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Parties and missile threats A cruise ship packed with passengers is stuck in the Middle East crisis zone.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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Ali Hamdan was stuck in gridlock on the road between his village in southern Lebanon, Deir al-Zahrani, and the port city of Sidon.—
FADI TAWIL,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shortchanged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortchanged. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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