fleeced

verb

Definition of fleecednext
past tense of fleece
as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats swindlers who use the telephone to fleece senior citizens out of their savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 fleeced The lesson from the parking deal is not merely that the city got fleeced by private investors. — Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026 Donovan writes—the perception that men were being fleeced persisted. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025 Zach Harper basically wrote that Atlanta got fleeced here, though. — Chris Branch, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026 Compared with the ostensible consequences of the prisoner’s dilemma, getting fleeced in the snowdrift problem’s scenario isn’t quite as disastrous. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026 Their false claims about getting financially fleeced by Uncle Sam were fueled by a rather sophisticated, albeit deceitful and shameful lobbying campaign, sponsored by greedy gadflies out to make a quick buck. — Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026 At his sentencing in 2024, Bailyn, the prosecutor, described Lorquet as a greedy criminal who fleeced his country at one of its weakest moments in history. — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026 Mexican cartels have fleeced American victims for hundreds of millions of dollars through timeshare fraud over the decades, treasury officials said, targeted them through call centers staffed by English-speaking telemarketers. — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026 Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar is warning of another scam that fleeced local residents out of tens of thousands of dollars — this time targeting family members of inmates in the Bexar County jail. — Saul Pink, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleeced
  1. cheated
  2. plucked
  3. hustled
  4. stung
  5. squeezed
  6. screwed
  7. swindled
  8. stuck
Verb
  • Hell may hath no fury like a Red Devils squad feeling cheated after the shocking FIFA decision to allow Balogun to play tonight in Seattle.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Billups is accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million.
    — Ed White, Twin Cities, 29 June 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • On the walls, black-and-white printouts of newspaper articles, magazines and book pages looked like they were plucked from a Pinterest board on scrapbooking.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Despite his young age, the then 36-year-old was far from a nobody plucked from the ether, though.
    — Chris Evans, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of plucked
Verb
  • The few that didn’t have hustled to catch up.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 June 2026
  • The first inning looked promising as Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda singled, and Cedric Mullins hustled his bunt attempt into a hit to load the bases.
    — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026
Definition of hustled
Verb
  • Democrats are still stung by Rogan’s nearly three-hour Trump interview in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.
    — Steven Sloan, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • Having dominated most of his players in table tennis over the years, Gadowsky is still stung after meeting his match.
    — John Wawrow, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
Definition of stung
Verb
  • The performance uptick that Motorola squeezed from the 2026 Razr+ is minor at best, with results showing no significant year-over-year gains.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 29 June 2026
  • There was Paris squeezed between meetings on a fleeting work trip.
    — Alisha Prakash, Travel + Leisure, 27 June 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • Either Cody or Gunther wins because Sami gets screwed; Zayn will then further descend into madness and attack someone after the bell.
    — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • With Dumb Money, also directed by Gillespie, Rogen played businessman Gabe Plotkin, who got screwed in the GameStop stock drama.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 June 2026
Definition of screwed
Verb
  • While the men whom Chen allegedly swindled began to grow suspicious of her actions around 2024, the Clark County Marriage Bureau reported her to the police, resulting in the launch of an investigation around the same time.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026
  • Aller swindled deal after deal on 2022 draft night, garnering future draft picks and getting off enough salary to sign Brunson and more.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Definition of swindled
Verb
  • Twenty-seven people were inside the building, two of whom got stuck before ultimately freeing themselves and exiting the building.
    — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • When the rope broke, three people fell 30 to 40 feet to the beach, and the other three were stuck halfway up the cliff.
    — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
Definition of stuck

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Cite this Entry

“Fleeced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleeced. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fleeced

Nglish: Translation of fleeced for Spanish Speakers

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