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
The former married former reality stars were convicted of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans to fund their luxurious lifestyle.
—
Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Jacobson was eventually forced to pay $12.5 million in restitution and was sentenced to 37 months in prison after coming clean, admitting to stealing approximately 60 winning game pieces and defrauding the game of $24 million in cash and prizes.
—Mark Gray, People.com, 20 June 2025
Jane Street founder allegedly hoodwinked into funding arms deal
Robert Granieri, a co-founder of Jane Street Group, was defrauded into a $7 million purchase of AK-47s, Stinger missiles, and grenades for a coup in South Sudan, according to prosecutors.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 26 June 2025
The Borrower Defense rule has been in place since 1994 but was rewritten by the Biden administration in 2022 to make the process easier for borrowers who were defrauded by a college to have those loans forgiven before a default, Forbes reported.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Jacobson was eventually forced to pay $12.5 million in restitution and was sentenced to 37 months in prison after coming clean, admitting to stealing approximately 60 winning game pieces and defrauding the game of $24 million in cash and prizes.
—Mark Gray, People.com, 20 June 2025
Jane Street founder allegedly hoodwinked into funding arms deal
Robert Granieri, a co-founder of Jane Street Group, was defrauded into a $7 million purchase of AK-47s, Stinger missiles, and grenades for a coup in South Sudan, according to prosecutors.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 26 June 2025
The Borrower Defense rule has been in place since 1994 but was rewritten by the Biden administration in 2022 to make the process easier for borrowers who were defrauded by a college to have those loans forgiven before a default, Forbes reported.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for defraud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraud
Verb
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Unlike the previous Final Destination Bloodlines films, however, death not only comes for the specific individuals who cheated death, but for generations of relatives in the survivors’ bloodlines.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
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Call to police started over cheating feud According to the criminal complaints: The woman began fighting the day before the shooting because of Jones' infidelity.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Marlene alleged her son grabbed and started to squeeze her throat.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
11 July 2025
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Kalvin Phillips squeezes a pass through the gap and into Omari Hutchinson, taking three Forest players out of the game.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
11 July 2025
Verb
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Historically, Sioux warriors would lure an eagle with rabbit or other food, pluck a few feathers and release it, said Thunder Hawk, who grew up in South Dakota.—
Giovanna Dell'orto,
Twin Cities,
13 July 2025
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Gunn takes the vast canon of Superman lore — from various iterations of the comics to TV shows like Smallville to the Donner films — and treats it like a grab bag, plucking elements from many sources.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Grobstein, then working for WLS-AM, hustled back to the press box.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
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The veteran major-leaguer — who has spent the majority of his career as a catcher — showed athleticism in the first inning, hustling to get an out at first base after starting pitcher Kris Bubic took a comebacker off his shin.—
Maddie Hartley
July 10,
Kansas City Star,
10 July 2025
Verb
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The bees became aggressive and stung the man multiple times.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
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Those walking through Aurillac, a quaint French community, were stung over a 30-minute period, with three people in critical condition evacuated to a hospital.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Step two: Defend against junk fees These nefarious fees are designed either to confuse or deceive consumers.—
Jill Schlesinger,
Mercury News,
7 July 2025
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Several state legislators and other state officials will testify that they were deceived by the conspirators regarding the operations of Phoenix Solutions, according to prosecutors.—
Evan Mealins,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Verb
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Chapman was the first ex-SBA employee in the country to be charged with bilking the agency responsible for doling out $800 billion in PPP and other pandemic loans, according to federal authorities.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2025
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Holmes, a 41-year-old mother of two, was convicted by a jury on four counts of felony criminal fraud in early 2022 for bilking investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars.—
Mercury News,
Boston Herald,
14 June 2025
Verb
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After swindling his way into loads of cash, Yoshii gradually attempts to disconnect from humanity, moving out of the city, shunning his girlfriend, and entrusting duties to his new, devoted assistant.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 July 2025
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Fans routinely collapsed at his concerts, an act that swindled into the 1990s.—
Ime Ekpo,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defraud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defraud. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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