swindle

/'swindl/

Thân thiện

The con artist attempted to swindle the elderly man out of his savings.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A fraudulent scheme or action: "swindle" refers to an act of cheating or deceiving someone to obtain money or property dishonestly.
   • An instance of being cheated: It can also describe the specific event or result of such deception.

2. Verb:

   • To cheat or defraud someone: The primary meaning is to deprive someone of money or possessions through deception or trickery.
   • To obtain by fraud: To acquire something through dishonest means.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The investment scheme turned out to be a massive swindle.
  • He was the victim of an elaborate online swindle.

• Verb:

  • The con artist tried to swindle the elderly couple out of their savings.
  • They swindled thousands of dollars from unsuspecting tourists.

Advanced Usage

• "to pull a swindle": to successfully execute a fraud.

  • The gang pulled off a sophisticated swindle involving fake bonds.

• "to be swindled out of something": to be cheated so that one loses a specific thing.

  • She was swindled out of her life's inheritance by a fake lawyer.

Variants and Related Words

• Swindler (n): a person who commits fraud; a cheat.
  • The swindler was finally caught and sent to prison.

Synonyms

• Defraud: to illegally obtain money from someone by deception.
• Cheat: to act dishonestly or unfairly to gain an advantage.
• Con: (verb) to persuade someone to do or believe something by lying to them; (noun) a trick or swindle.
• Fleece: (informal) to obtain a great deal of money from someone, typically by overcharging or swindling them.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Swindle out of: This is the standard construction for the verb, meaning to cheat someone so they lose something.
  • He swindled his business partner out of her share of the profits.

Related Idioms

• A confidence swindle/trick: a fraud in which the victim is persuaded to trust the swindler.
  • The classic "Nigerian prince" email is a well-known confidence swindle.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme
   • that book is a fraud

Verb

1. deprive of by deceit
   • He swindled me out of my inheritance
   • She defrauded the customers who trusted her
   • the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change

Từ đồng nghĩa

• cheat
• rig