defraud

[dih-frawd]

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verb (used with object)

to deprive of a right, money, or property by fraud: Dishonest employees defrauded the firm of millions of dollars.

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 for defraud

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bilk, swindle, fleece, rip off, gyp, rook, cheat.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for defrauded

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 of defrauded

Last week, property owners were beaten by security guards as they confronted a real-estate developer who defrauded them.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think
Brendon Hong
December 27, 2014
How many of the 36,000 clients that you defrauded have you called?
Jon Corzine Can’t Answer $1.2 Billion Question About MF Global at Hearing
Michael Daly
December 16, 2011
Allan Dodds Frank on the Picower fortune's origins, and why it's not nearly enough for some of the defrauded.
Payday for Madoff Victims
Allan Dodds Frank
December 18, 2010
That is the figure the thousands of defrauded victims believe to be more accurate.
Obama Should Bail Out Madoff Victims
Ronnie Sue Ambrosino
April 10, 2009
The people who defrauded investors and scammed unwitting homebuyers will be punished.
Don't Lecture Us, Mr. President
Nicolle Wallace
March 2, 2009

Historical Examples of defrauded

Can the Major give me the $900 of which I have been defrauded, to help me to conduct my defence?
The Hunted Outlaw
Anonymous
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.
The History of the First West India Regiment
A. B. Ellis
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

(tr) to take away or withhold money, rights, property, etc, from (a person) by fraud; cheat; swindle

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

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