swindle

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To defraud.
2. (ambitransitive) To obtain (money or property) by fraudulent or deceitful methods.
3. For a player in a losing position to play a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.

Noun

1. An instance of swindling.
2. Anything that is deceptively not what it appears to be.
3. An instance wherein a player in a losing position plays a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.

Synonyms

cheat

deceive

defraud

trick

fraud

con

dupe

gyp

hoax

deception

hoodwink

fleece

bilk

embezzle

bamboozle

rook

fool

trickery

cheating

deceit

scam

diddle

bunco

gull

lie

mislead

victimize

do

bluff

rip off

misappropriate

cozen

dupery

corrupt

humbug

hornswoggle

sham

spoof

gip

screw

nobble

outsmart

rig

chisel

embezzlement

double-cross

chicanery

knavery

imposition

hocus-pocus

Translations

betrügen

Schwindel

escroquerie

truffare

escroquer

Betrug

truffa

engañar

estafar

zwendelen

schwindeln

inganno

frauder

imbroglio

frauderen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈswɪnd(ə)l/

Etymology

Cognate with German: schwindeln

Cognate with Danish: svindel

Cognate with Dutch: zwindelen

Cognate with Yiddish: שווינדל

Cognate with Low German: swinneln

Cognate with Middle English: swinden

In summary

Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”).
See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).