swindle 1 of 2

swindle

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb swindle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of swindle are cheat, cozen, and defraud. While all these words mean "to get something by dishonesty or deception," swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.

swindled of their savings by con artists

When would cheat be a good substitute for swindle?

The words cheat and swindle are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.

cheated me out of a dollar

When might cozen be a better fit than swindle?

The synonyms cozen and swindle are sometimes interchangeable, but cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.

always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars

When could defraud be used to replace swindle?

The meanings of defraud and swindle largely overlap; however, defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.

defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of swindle
Noun
And last year's $30 million in romance swindles was up from 2023's $24.4 million. Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025 Among the top swindles is one in which people extort money by pretending an arrest warrant has been issued for the victim, Smith said. Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
Ozer swindled $207,100 from that project, falsifying bank records and forging correspondence from another producer to cover his tracks, officials said. Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 6 May 2025 Nacho is a trans man who was arrested for swindling and started a rock band in jail. Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for swindle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swindle
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • The responsibility and reasoning behind infidelity lie solely with the person who cheated.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
  • After reconciling, the former couple still faced several challenges, including cheating allegations and public social media fallouts.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • Hundreds of people squeezed into the Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colo., for a vigil that featured prayer, singing and emotional testimony from a victim and witnesses of the firebombing attack in the city’s downtown, after a federal judge blocked the deportation of the suspect’s family.
    Colleen Slevin, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
  • In some towns, utility poles were removed so the caravans could squeeze through.
    Angela Jackson, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • Its allure is rooted in seeing the celebrity guest melt beneath the weight of hot sauce: Shaq’s eyes stung red with tears, viscera gushed from O’Brien nose.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 May 2025
  • Recent history suggests that Republicans would take few lessons from even a stinging rebuke in the midterms.
    Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • The eggs, of course, are plucked from the hen house each morning.
    Matthew Monagan, Travel + Leisure, 3 June 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
  • Federal prosecutors in Texas identified 80 victims defrauded of nearly $40 million by Charles Carrier since 2018.
    Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 30 May 2025
  • The pair was accused of running a scheme that, through fraudulent loans, defrauded the IRS and committed tax evasion.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • Even children who are online only in small doses likely see false or inaccurate information that might deceive them.
    Evan Orticio, Scientific American, 2 June 2025
  • In November, Dove pleaded guilty in Gaston County to a dozen felony charges related to illegally accessing police computer systems and helping someone deceive a polygraph test, The Gaston Gazette reported.
    Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 30 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Swindle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swindle. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.

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