What does defrauding mean?
Defrauding refers to the act of wrongfully depriving someone of money, property, or a legal right through deception, dishonesty, or abuse of trust. It is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'defraud', and it appears most often in legal and journalistic writing: individuals are charged with defrauding banks, investors, insurers, government programs, or vulnerable individuals. Unlike ordinary theft, which involves taking property directly, defrauding hinges on deceit — the victim willingly hands over assets because they have been misled. English law and many other legal systems treat it as a serious criminal offence as well as grounds for civil claims. In everyday usage the verb commonly pairs with 'of' to name what was taken, as in 'defrauded of her inheritance'. The word carries a strongly negative connotation, implying calculated dishonesty rather than accident or negligence, and it remains one of the most precise terms available for describing financial deception.
The action or practice of obtaining money, property, or rights from another by deception or dishonesty.
"The court found the defrauding of pensioners to be both systematic and prolonged."
Usually preceded by an article or possessive when used as a gerundial noun.
Present participle of defraud: to obtain money, property, or rights from someone through deception.
"They were caught defrauding the insurance company with fabricated claims."
The word 'defraud' carries 'fraud' hidden inside it like a confession — its Latin root, fraus, means deceit pure and simple.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of defrauding
Defrauding derives from the verb defraud, which entered English in the late Middle Ages (around the fifteenth century) from Old French defrauder, ultimately tracing back to the Latin defraudare, formed from de- ('away from') plus fraudare ('to cheat'), itself rooted in fraus, meaning deceit or injury. The Latin noun fraus also gave English the words fraud, fraudulent, and fraudulence, all sharing the core sense of deliberate deception. The word has carried its legalistic sense of cheating someone of a right or property since its earliest use in English.
Related word forms
How defrauding is actually used
Formal register, used chiefly in legal and journalistic contexts. It typically takes the preposition 'of' for what was taken ('defrauding her of her savings') or a direct object for the victim ('defrauding the company'). The connotation is strongly negative and implies deliberate deception rather than mere carelessness or error.
Easily confused with defrauding
'Defraying' means paying or covering a cost, while 'defrauding' means cheating someone out of money or property by deception.