swindle

Word family

• swindler
  nounB2
• swindling
  nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Swindle focuses on getting money or property through lies and false promises — it always involves financial loss for the victim. Cheat is much broader: you can cheat in a game, on a test, or on your partner without taking money. Defraud is the formal legal term and belongs in courtrooms and official documents; it sounds stiff in casual conversation. Con emphasises the psychological trick — a con artist first wins your trust, then takes your money — and carries a more informal, almost cinematic tone. Fleece is the most informal of the group and suggests the victim was charged an outrageously high price, like paying triple the normal rate for a taxi ride. If a builder bills you for work never done, he swindled you; if a poker player hides a card, he cheated; if an executive falsifies accounts, she defrauded investors.

Common collocations

Etymology

Swindle entered English in the late 18th century from German Schwindler, meaning 'a cheat.' The German root schwindeln originally meant 'to be dizzy or giddy,' then shifted to 'to talk nonsense,' and finally to 'to deceive.' The word came into English through the German Jewish community in London during the late 1700s.