fraud

[frawd]

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.

Origin of fraud

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

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

Synonyms for fraud

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fraud ON THESAURUS.COM

3. wile, hoax.

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

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

Word Origin and History for fraud

"criminal deception," early 14c., from Old French fraude "deception, fraud" (13c.), from Latin fraudem (nominative fraus) "deceit, injury." The noun meaning "impostor, humbug" is attested from 1850. Pious fraud "deception practiced for the sake of what is deemed a good purpose" is from 1560s.