fraud

[ frawd ]

/ frɔd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fraud ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.

a particular instance of such deceit or trickery: mail fraud; election frauds.

any deception, trickery, or humbug: That diet book is a fraud and a waste of time.

a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.

Nearby words

fraternity house, fraternize, fratricide, fratry, frau, fraud, fraud squad, fraudster, fraudulent, frauenfeld, fraughan

Origin of fraud

1300–50; Middle English fraude < Old French < Medieval Latin fraud- (stem of fraus) deceit, injury

SYNONYMS FOR fraud

3 wile, hoax.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fraud ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

fraud·ful, adjectivefraud·ful·ly, adverban·ti·fraud, adjectivepre·fraud, noun

Synonym study

1. See duplicity.

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

Examples from the Web for fraud

Mahoney helped author the I-STOP legislation based on data his office collected in regard to fraud.
No More Paper Prescriptions: Docs Fight Fraud by Going Electronic|Dale Eisinger|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We are overwhelmed with data from every quarter, and our capacity to filter fact from fraud is limited.
The Facts About Ferguson Matter, Dammit|Doug McIntyre|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ortega has dismissed the allegations of autocracy and fraud that have afflicted his presidency as politically motivated.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution|Nina Lakhani|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The charges included corruption, perjury, bid-fixing and fraud.
Madonna, Carla Bruni & Obama Abandoned Pledges To Rebuild L'Aquila After The Quake|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

There is wide consensus among attorneys that adoptive parents can vacate an adoption if acts of fraud were committed.
Couple Sues Over Russian ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Adoption of Disabled Kids|Tina Traster|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They govern in the Asiatic way—by fraud if possible—if not, by force.
Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt|Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
With the help of this fraud, and with a free and extensive market made on the Stock Exchange, the 1870 Honduras 10 per cent.
International Finance|Hartley Withers
There are conditions, however, in which fraud is not supposable.
The Arena|Various
Lewis the Eleventh reduced all these petty states, by fraud, force, or marriage; for he scrupled no means to obtain his ends.
The PG Edition of Chesterfield's Letters to His Son|The Earl of Chesterfield
It isn't any fraud—there ARE sections of the country that produce almost anything, from alfalfa to strawberries.
The Flying U's Last Stand|B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for fraud

fraud

/ (frɔːd) /

noun

deliberate deception, trickery, or cheating intended to gain an advantage

an act or instance of such deception

something false or spurioushis explanation was a fraud

informal a person who acts in a false or deceitful way

Word Origin for fraud

C14: from Old French fraude, from Latin fraus deception

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