Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

defraud

[dih-frawd]
See more synonyms for defraud on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to deprive of a right, money, or property by fraud: Dishonest employees defrauded the firm of millions of dollars.
Show More

Origin of defraud

1325–75; Middle English defrauden < Old French defrauder < Latin dēfraudāre, equivalent to dē- de- + fraudāre to cheat; see fraud
Related formsde·frau·da·tion [dee-fraw-dey-shuhn] /ˌdi frɔˈdeɪ ʃən/, de·fraud·ment, nounde·fraud·er, nounun·de·fraud·ed, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
bilk, swindle, fleece, rip off, gyp, rook, cheat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fleece, victimize, rob, dupe, deceive, embezzle, con, circumvent, swindle, pilfer, hoax, clip, stick, do, burn, milk, foil, outwit, shaft, trick

Examples from the Web for defrauded

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Can the Major give me the $900 of which I have been defrauded, to help me to conduct my defence?

  • The people now believed that they should be defrauded of their victim.

    Calderon The Courtier

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • For more than six months the men had been defrauded of their pay.

  • She was not in that way to be defrauded of her entertainment.

    Captain Blood

    Rafael Sabatini

  • And thus, as I have said, our task is not to be defrauded of our interior peace.

    Joyous Gard

    Arthur Christopher Benson

British Dictionary definitions for defrauded

defraud

verb
  1. (tr) to take away or withhold money, rights, property, etc, from (a person) by fraud; cheat; swindle
Show More
Derived Formsdefraudation (ˌdiːfrɔːˈdeɪʃən) or defraudment, noundefrauder, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for defrauded

defraud

v.

mid-14c., from Old French defrauder, from Latin defraudare "to defraud, cheat," from de- "thoroughly" (see de-) + fraudare (see fraud). Related: Defrauded; defrauding.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper