cheat synonyms

cheat

n.

  1. One who cheats

    rogue, cheater, swindler, fraud, quack, charlatan, conniver, confidence man, scammer, chiseler, impostor, masquerader, fake, bluff, deceiver, inveigler, hypocrite, double-dealer, trickster, shyster, mountebank, pettifogger, pretender, knave, cozener, dodger, humbug, crook, defrauder, dissembler, bilk, sharper, shark, wolf in sheep's clothing, enticer, decoy, beguiler, phony*, diddler*, two-timer*, blackleg*, con artist*, con man*, fourflusher*, shill*, sharp*, cardsharp*, flimflammer*, flimflam man*, bunco artist*, grifter*; see also criminal, impostor, quack, rascal.

  2. A trick

    fraud, swindle, deceit; see fake, trick 1.

cheat

v.

defraud, swindle, dupe, trick, deceive, victimize, hoax, con*, bilk*, gull*, bamboozle*, fleece*, overcharge*, shortchange*, gyp*, gouge*, rook*, chisel*, cozen*, mulct*, be dishonest, practice fraud, crib*, plagiarize*, copy*, be unfaithful, play around*, fool around*, two-time*, stack the deck, stack the cards, play with marked cards, load the dice, diddle*, rip off*, clip*, stick*, sting*, burn*, beat*; see also deceive.

cheat, the most general term in this comparison, implies dealing dishonestly or deceptively with someone to obtain some advantage or gain; defraud, chiefly a legal term, stresses the use of deliberate deception in criminally depriving a person of rights or property; swindle stresses the winning of a person's confidence in order to cheat or defraud that person of money; trick implies deluding by means of a ruse, stratagem, etc., but does not always suggest fraudulence or a harmful motive; dupe stresses credulity in the person who is tricked or fooled; hoax implies a trick skillfully carried off simply to demonstrate the gullibility of the victim

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.