as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
senior citizens generally were too smart to fall for the fast-talking salesman's attempts to defraud them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defraud
Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who, in 1920, defrauded the modern-day equivalent of a quarter of a billion dollars.
—
Peter White, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2025
What To Know Criminals have begun impersonating officials from the FBI's IC3 in a series of attacks targeting those who have already been defrauded, the agency warned in a public service announcement issued on April 18.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
These scams have been industrialized and are fast becoming the most likely way you’ll be defrauded.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Property manager defrauds HOAs and bank out of $2.1M, uses money to gamble, feds say
In Utah, Blake Floyd Cozzens has admitted to defrauding homeowners associations, tenants, and a Las Vegas bank out of more than $2.1 million, federal prosecutors say.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Peter White, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2025
What To Know Criminals have begun impersonating officials from the FBI's IC3 in a series of attacks targeting those who have already been defrauded, the agency warned in a public service announcement issued on April 18.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
These scams have been industrialized and are fast becoming the most likely way you’ll be defrauded.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Property manager defrauds HOAs and bank out of $2.1M, uses money to gamble, feds say
In Utah, Blake Floyd Cozzens has admitted to defrauding homeowners associations, tenants, and a Las Vegas bank out of more than $2.1 million, federal prosecutors say.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraud
Verb
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Disgruntled attendees, many of them authors, said they felt cheated by event organizers, who failed to deliver on most, if not all fronts.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
7 May 2025
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In their stories about others, 92% chronicled how misfortune befell cheating partners, indebted friends, bullies and lousy coworkers.—
Kameryn Griesser,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
Verb
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For now, the researchers have left the ship in situ, partially covering it with original soil and squeezing wet sponges onto it to preserve moisture.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 Apr. 2025
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And kids of all ages are putting on their finest clothes, squeezing on their caps, and getting ready to walk across that stage.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To a visitor’s eye, the light switch is nowhere to be found—that is, until a tintype photograph is plucked from a ledge near the front door to reveal a white plastic switch plate.—
Shoko Wanger,
Architectural Digest,
1 May 2025
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More than 260 Southern California steelhead trout were plucked from their stream in the Palisades fire burn scar and moved to a different area, saving them from lethal debris flows.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Marchand hustled down the ice to negate a potential icing call.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2025
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Late in the first half, with Orlando already on a 10-0 run, White hustled back to stop a four-on-one fast break.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That play — not even a full turnover, mind you — is what stings a full year later.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
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Malone, who gets Mincemeat’s best song, still looks like a favorite in his category, and Mincemeat did get recognition for its score (written by three of its stars, members of the same comedy troupe), but the lack of enthusiasm elsewhere must sting.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Jurors found Peters guilty in August for using someone else’s security badge to give an expert affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system and deceiving other officials about that person’s identity.—
Colleen Slevin,
Twin Cities,
22 Apr. 2025
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Stribling tried to deceive officers by saying Bailei was shot in a robbery, The Detroit News reported.—
Mike Stunson,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Mark Measures, a longtime talent agent, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of bilking 160 actors out of $1.8 million.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2025
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Holmes, 41, was convicted on four counts of felony criminal fraud in early 2022 for bilking investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto, California, blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars.—
Mercury News,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2025
Verb
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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
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Nacho is a trans man who was arrested for swindling and started a rock band in jail.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defraud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defraud. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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