cheat 1 of 2

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as in to disappoint
to fall short in satisfying the expectation or hope of the daredevil survived his plunge over the falls with barely a scratch, having cheated death once again

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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cheat

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb cheat contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of cheat are cozen, defraud, and swindle. While all these words mean "to get something by dishonesty or deception," cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.

cheated me out of a dollar

When can cozen be used instead of cheat?

The words cozen and cheat are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.

always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars

When is defraud a more appropriate choice than cheat?

The meanings of defraud and cheat largely overlap; however, defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.

defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer

Where would swindle be a reasonable alternative to cheat?

In some situations, the words swindle and cheat are roughly equivalent. However, swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.

swindled of their savings by con artists

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cheat
Verb
Now, some administrators are working to minimize cheating while promoting AI as a useful learning tool before the upcoming school year. Lauren Uppal, Mercury News, 11 July 2025 Bollards reinforce the visual and physical boundary at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and 19th Street, making it so drivers can’t cheat the zone. Sacbee.com, 10 July 2025
Noun
No, the cheat code is simply to make picks at high volume. Thomas Drance, New York Times, 29 June 2025 Wearing comfortable sandals that also look stylish may be the ultimate summer-comfort cheat code. Clint Davis, People.com, 28 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for cheat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheat
Verb
  • Without that visibility, AI might ignore you or misrepresent you based on outdated or irrelevant content.
    Christine Wetzler, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
  • In the suit, filed on behalf of Reed and his wife in Davidson County Chancery Court on Jan. 17, Reed contends the school breached his contract, misrepresented his role in the response and inflicted emotional distress on him and his wife, among other things.
    Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Verb
  • The islands of Aruba and Curaçao, for example, lie outside the hurricane belt, offering a reliable escape even at the height of hurricane season.
    Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025
  • The challenge lies in the complexity of digital evidence and the legitimate privacy concerns that fuel resistance.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • Aramark said in a statement earlier this week that the company was disappointed in the strike deadline and that contingency plans are in place to ensure fans at Fenway Park will have the ability to purchase food and drink during the games this weekend.
    Michael Hurley, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
  • However, Humphrey said the defense came away from Wednesday’s first practice disappointed in its play and its inability to force turnovers.
    Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 25 July 2025
Verb
  • Then, squeeze your Magic Eraser a few times to activate the foaming bubbles.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 20 July 2025
  • When cold fronts and other weather systems come along, that moisture can get wrung out, like squeezing a water-laden sponge, yielding heavy and often highly localized downpours.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 20 July 2025
Noun
  • Try, try again Speaking of classes, the eight options here tend to fall into the usual archetypes for this kind of action-adventure game: the tank, the mage, the defensive specialist, the dextrous dodger, etc.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
  • The layoffs of roughly 7,000 Internal Revenue Service probationary workers beginning this week probably mean the end of the agency’s plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collection, experts say.
    Fatima Hussein, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Cromartie also took a plea deal for charges including strangulation, third degree assault of a police officer, first degree wanton endangerment, disarming a peace officer, fleeing or evading police, resisting arrest and violation of a foreign protective order, according to court records.
    Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 18 July 2025
  • Of late, Netanyahu has attempted to fudge the issue by pushing through legislation that would create a technical process for drafting the ultra-Orthodox but in practice make the new requirements easy to evade.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 17 July 2025
Verb
  • The cute post features a precious shot of baby Sully sleeping, wearing a onesie with trucks on it.
    Clea Haran, Parents, 15 July 2025
  • Resort teams often work around the clock during storms, sometimes sleeping on-site while trying to care for their own families and lives at the same time.
    Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • After studying music at Stanford, Scher hustled the biggest gig of all: working for the greatest booker in town himself, Bill Graham.
    David Kushner, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2025
  • The game came easy for her and, then just rebounding-wise, Jess just hustled.
    Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 16 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cheat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheat. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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