fraudulent
Americanadjective
-
characterized by, involving, or proceeding from fraud, as actions, enterprise, methods, or gains.
a fraudulent scheme to evade taxes.
-
given to or using fraud, as a person; cheating; dishonest.
- Synonyms:
- unscrupulous, underhanded, crooked
-
false or deceiving; phony; misleading.
They’ve concocted a series of fraudulent pretexts for the invasion that collapse instantly on examination.
adjective
-
acting with or having the intent to deceive
-
relating to or proceeding from fraud or dishonest action
Other Word Forms
- fraudulence noun
- fraudulency noun
- fraudulently adverb
- nonfraudulence noun
- nonfraudulency noun
- nonfraudulent adjective
- nonfraudulently adverb
- unfraudulent adjective
- unfraudulently adverb
Etymology
Origin of fraudulent
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin fraudulentus; fraud, -ulent
Explanation
Something fraudulent is intentionally false and meant to harm or deceive. That email message from the Sultan of Brunei offering you millions of dollars just might be fraudulent. From the fact that the word fraudulent is frequently teamed with the word scheme, you can get the idea that something fraudulent is sneaky, snarky, and just plain wrong. A fraudulent scheme is one designed to gain something at the expense of someone else. It might be small — trying to use an expired coupon — or bigger — lying on your taxes. Whatever its form, planning something fraudulent is cheating, and it's wrong.
Vocabulary lists containing fraudulent
Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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"Bones" Producer's Lawsuit Full of Great Vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to trade association UK Finance, fraudulent spending on UK-issued debit and credit cards is on the rise.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
We have grown accustomed to short selling investment firms publishing detailed reports on companies they believe are fraudulent.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
During the pandemic, the state paid an estimated $30 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims, including to state prisoners and criminals who used patently false identities like then-Sen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
The person I spoke to seemed to know who I was — possibly from caller ID — and appeared to have information about me and the fraudulent charge.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026
From the social point of view the slow and possibly fraudulent unraveling of a multi-trillion-dollar U.S. bond market was a catastrophe.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
