swindle

[swin-dl]

verb (used with object)

swindled, swindling 

1. to cheat (a person, business, etc.) out of money or other assets.

   Synonyms: bamboozle, deceive, trick, dupe, cozen

2. to obtain by fraud or deceit.

verb (used without object)

swindled, swindling 

1. to put forward plausible schemes or use unscrupulous trickery to defraud others; cheat.

noun

1. an act of swindling or a fraudulent transaction or scheme.

2. anything deceptive; a fraud.

   This advertisement is a real swindle.

swindle

/ ˈswɪndəl /

verb

1. to cheat (someone) of money, etc; defraud

2. (tr) to obtain (money, etc) by fraud

noun

1. a fraudulent scheme or transaction

Other Word Forms

• swindleable adjective
• swindler noun
• swindlingly adverb
• outswindle verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of swindle¹

First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from swindler ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of swindle¹

C18: back formation from German Schwindler, from schwindeln, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan to disappear

Example Sentences

And while they concede that seniors may be more frequently targeted online than those younger, that, too, is based on a false assumption—that their age will make them easier to swindle.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners -- many of them Chinese -- who often say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.

Read more on Barron's

Former Roma resident Judit Pusomai alleges she was swindled out of her mud house when someone tricked her into signing a property swap deal.

Read more on Barron's

The problem was she was making plans not with “General Hospital” star Steve Burton, but with a scammer who intended not to romance her, but to swindle her.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He allegedly posed as the wealthy heir of a diamond mogul on dating app Tinder and swindled women into lending him large sums of money, which he never repaid.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bilk 
• con 
• deceive 
• defraud 
• dupe 
• extort 
• fleece 
• gouge 
• hoodwink 
• overcharge 
• victimize