as in scam
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
identity theft has become one of the most frequent and feared swindles of our time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
hundreds of people were swindled out of their savings, and all they had to show for it were fake land deeds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swindle
Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
The Minnesota Supreme Court has banned Woodbury attorney Kristi McNeilly from practicing law in the state, three years after she was convicted of theft by swindle for stealing $15,000 from a man who hired her to defend him in a drug case.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 2 Apr. 2025
John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2025
The play is also cut so that, while the lower class denizens of this downtrodden village are mentioned constantly, they’re not really seen, heightening the interactions among the town’s swindling leaders and their swindling faux-inspector guest.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swindle
Noun
Then, speaking of swindles, Jeffrey Toobin explains why no one can stop Trump from handing out pardons.
—Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
The Minnesota Supreme Court has banned Woodbury attorney Kristi McNeilly from practicing law in the state, three years after she was convicted of theft by swindle for stealing $15,000 from a man who hired her to defend him in a drug case.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
This false narrative aims to swindle taxpayers out of as much as $5 billion, not to prevent a terrible accident, but to enact a costly vision for the expansion of transit ridership.
—John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2025
The play is also cut so that, while the lower class denizens of this downtrodden village are mentioned constantly, they’re not really seen, heightening the interactions among the town’s swindling leaders and their swindling faux-inspector guest.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swindle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swindle
Noun
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Vague delivery details could signal a scam Here's how the scam works, according to the BBB: Need a break?—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Thankfully, all the scam spam doesn’t seem to have killed anyone’s appetite for the grift as a genre.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Trouble is, the elder Broadway managed to cheat St. Christopher out of his share of the plunder.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
13 June 2025
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Iran's response: cheating and hiding its nuclear weapons program; sprinting toward a bomb; and trying to assassinate senior American officials, including President Trump.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Despite remaining hugely cash-generative at the operating level, outgoings on player transfers, loan interest and the £50million investment at the Carrington training ground have squeezed their ability to spend quite so readily as in the past.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
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Team-building is not about squeezing sufficient value out of every single contract or assembling a roster of yes men.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
16 June 2025
Verb
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Rough as that was, a fielding mistake may have stung worse.—
Compiled From Wire Reports,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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According to news stories, Macron was stung by the report’s lukewarm reception in Algeria.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Verb
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And yet, it’s still rooted in something real, because Perry plucked much of the heavy-handed dialog Keery delivers verbatim from the Wowee Zowee press kit, contemporaneous Malkmus interviews, and things Malkmus told Perry himself.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
4 June 2025
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The eggs, of course, are plucked from the hen house each morning.—
Matthew Monagan,
Travel + Leisure,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Night shift in a teeming academic hospital can feel like a relentlessly heaving freighter, and I’d been hustling from ward to ward bailing water; this task was just another on my scut list.—
Danielle Ofri,
New Yorker,
7 June 2025
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There are a lot of risks doing that, but if someone wants to go all in and hustle for success, this can be a good option.—
Joseph Drups,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Verb
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All were unlikely beneficiaries this week of pardons, with President Donald Trump flexing his executive power to bestow clemency on political allies, prominent public figures and others convicted of defrauding the public.—
Eric Tucker,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2025
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The first: Trump is expected to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted in 2022 for evading taxes and conspiracy to defraud banks of more than $30 million (!) to support their lifestyle.—
Cate Martel,
The Hill,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Notably, 40 percent acknowledged faking activity to deceive monitoring systems, suggesting a struggle to maintain consistent performance outside traditional office settings.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 June 2025
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So there’s an interesting, dark comedy element to people that are deceiving themselves.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swindle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swindle. Accessed 21 Jun. 2025.
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