English Lexicon

Defraud

/dɪˈfrɔːd/
verbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb
  1. 1

    To illegally obtain money or property from someone by deception.

    "The scam artist tried to defraud several elderly people out of their savings."
  2. 2

    To deprive someone of something by deceit.

    "He was charged with defrauding the company of its assets."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The word 'defraud' originates from the Latin 'defraudare', meaning 'to cheat or deprive of a right'. It evolved through Old French before entering Middle English, where it retained its meaning related to deception and financial wrongdoing.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Defraud"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Defraud"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Defraud" Synonym Map