defacation

Definition

1. Noun (archaic or rare):
   • Embezzlement: "defacation" refers to the act of stealing or misappropriating funds or property entrusted to one's care, especially by an official or employee.
   • Stolen funds: It can also denote the amount of money or property that has been embezzled.

Usage Examples

• (Embezzlement of company funds.)
• (The total sum of stolen money.)

Advanced Usage

• Historical context: This term is largely obsolete in modern English, replaced by "embezzlement" or "defalcation" (a related but distinct legal term). It appears primarily in older legal or financial documents.
  • The report detailed the defacation by the treasurer, leading to his dismissal. (Embezzlement in an official context.)

Variants and Related Words

• Defalcate (verb): to embezzle or misappropriate funds.

  • The manager attempted to defalcate from the pension fund. (To steal money entrusted to one.)

• Defalcation (noun): a more common term meaning embezzlement or the act of misappropriating funds.

  • The defalcation was discovered during the annual audit. (The embezzlement was found.)

Synonyms

• Embezzlement: the fraudulent taking of property by a person to whom it was entrusted.
• Misappropriation: the dishonest use of funds for one's own purposes.
• Peculation: an older term for embezzlement, especially of public funds.

Related Idioms

• To dip into the till: to steal money from a cash register or funds one manages.

  • He was caught dipping into the till to cover his debts. (Stealing small amounts regularly.)

• To cook the books: to falsify financial records to hide theft or mismanagement.

  • The manager cooked the books to conceal the defacation. (Altered accounts to hide embezzlement.)

Note

• Do not confuse with "defecation": "defacation" (embezzlement) is a different word from "defecation" (the act of passing feces). The spelling is similar, but the meanings are unrelated.