Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Taken for your own use in violation of a trust: Describes money or property that has been stolen or misappropriated by someone who was entrusted with it, such as an employee, official, or manager.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The company collapsed after the CEO was found to have used embezzled funds for his personal luxury purchases.
  • Auditors discovered an account containing millions in embezzled assets from the pension fund.
  • She was sentenced for laundering the embezzled money through a series of shell companies.

Advanced Usage

• "embezzled" as a participial adjective: Often used to modify nouns like "money," "funds," "assets," or "property" to specify their illicit origin.
  • The investigation focused on tracing the embezzled capital across international borders.

Variants and Related Words

• Embezzle (verb): To steal (money or property) placed in one's trust.
  • The treasurer was accused of trying to embezzle from the club's treasury.
• Embezzlement (noun): The act or crime of embezzling.
  • He was convicted on charges of fraud and embezzlement.
• Embezzler (noun): A person who embezzles.
  • The embezzler had falsified the financial records for years.

Synonyms

• Misappropriated: Taken for a dishonest, unauthorized, or improper purpose.
• Defalcated: Formally, to misappropriate funds; to commit defalcation.
• Pilfered: Stolen, especially in small quantities (less specific to a breach of trust).

Related Phrases

• To be charged with embezzlement: To be formally accused of the crime.
  • The former manager was charged with embezzlement.
• To recover embezzled funds: To get stolen money or assets back.
  • The authorities managed to recover only a fraction of the embezzled funds.

Adjective

1. taken for your own use in violation of a trust
   • the banker absconded with embezzled funds