as in cheats
a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value
the swindlers, representing themselves as land developers, produced a glossy brochure showing beaches, palm trees, and golf links
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Recent Examples of swindlers
This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.
—
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.
—Henry Alford, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Serial swindlers and men prone to violence are among the seven people Colorado’s gambling regulators have banned for life from casinos since the state created a system last year for barring problem bettors.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, posing as the original customer, the swindlers cancelled the order to get a refund.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Some swindlers thumb their nose at both and keep their cons going.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.
—Henry Alford, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Serial swindlers and men prone to violence are among the seven people Colorado’s gambling regulators have banned for life from casinos since the state created a system last year for barring problem bettors.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, posing as the original customer, the swindlers cancelled the order to get a refund.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Some swindlers thumb their nose at both and keep their cons going.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swindlers
Noun
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The world is full of bad actors—cheats, liars, tyrants, sickos—who are, ultimately, mere human beings; at least, this was how rationality would have it.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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Others might feel the author cheats here, leaving it up to the reader to decide.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But my collection intentionally ignored the fraudulent exploits of billionaire heirs, tax dodgers and corporate magnates — defense contracts, government lobbying, bank accounts in Switzerland, shell companies in Panama, citizenship of Antigua and political asylum in London.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
One of Katy Perry’s two gyrating sharks in fugue state.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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Yet despite their impressive size, encounters with these enigmas remain exceedingly rare due to the myriad of challenges of studying deep-sea sharks.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swindlers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swindlers. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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