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
  • The latest round of scam texts have been reported by departments of motor vehicles in at least three states: New York, Florida and California.
    Alana Wise, NPR, 24 May 2025
  • Such scams exploit investor enthusiasm and poor regulation to inflate prices before insiders sell off their holdings.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 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
  • Umberto Rispoli squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally.
    Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2025
  • Martinez’s son squeezed the trigger five times, shooting Rivera to death and wounding two others, the detective wrote in the affidavit.
    Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 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
  • The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles have drawn the blueprint on perpetually pouring resources into the front seven on defense, consistently plucking players from SEC schools and throwing them onto an assembly line of quarterback mashers.
    Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • Women dominate the lower tiers of tea labor, from plucking to packaging and remain vastly underrepresented in management, ownership, or policy influence.
    Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Verb
  • Police officers, firefighters and service members hustled to unload carloads of diapers, car seats, clothes, toys, books and toiletries that residents had dropped off.
    Tammy Murga, Mercury News, 23 May 2025
  • Callers lighting up sports talk radio, debating what’s a bigger deal – Soto not shuffling or Soto not hustling?
    Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • In March 2023, DiBiase pleaded guilty to one federal charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
    Caroline Blair, People.com, 21 May 2025
  • Boeing agreed last year to plead guilty to defrauding regulators after the crashes of two 737 Max jets, in 2018 and 2019, that killed 346 people.
    Joel Rose, NPR, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Their book has already generated a national debate about whether the White House deceived the public about the president’s condition and how Biden’s late exit from the race undermined the Democratic Party’s chances of stopping a second term for President Trump.
    Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
  • Although Bristol’s spring race may appear to have sparse crowds, this is somewhat deceiving.
    Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 19 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Swindle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swindle. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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