1
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
a conscienceless adventuress who never earned anything except through cheating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adultery
a sexual encounter or relationship between a married person and someone other than their spouse
she swore that if there was ever any cheating, she'd leave in a heartbeat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dishonest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in misrepresenting
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal
students who cheat on tests end up never knowing anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in lying
to be sexually unfaithful
he suspects that his girlfriend is cheating on him
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in disappointing
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
4
as in hustling
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
a despicable confidence man who heartlessly cheated elderly people out of their savings
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 cheating
Chris Branch, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Niemann, who had previously admitted to cheating in online games, denied Carlsen's allegations.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2024
It could be deemed as cheating or it could be deemed as being just a downright dirty ass player.
—EW.com, 20 Dec. 2024
This comes months after Remy was accused of cheating with a battle rapper.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The beef led to Remy Ma and Papoose exchanging cheating accusations and Shields posting her own takes on the drama.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024
The always hilarious Luke Wilson portrays down-and-out soap opera actor JD Campbell, whose money-hungry, cheating wife Margo Starling, played by Linda Cardellini, is burning through his money.
—Dana Feldman, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Revenge is sweet, but Lee Yi-kyung steals the show as her comically awful cheating husband.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Or, if not cheating, exploiting loopholes in major league baseball’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
And no, this isn’t some cheating scandal or love triangle.
—Chris Branch, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Niemann, who had previously admitted to cheating in online games, denied Carlsen's allegations.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2024
It could be deemed as cheating or it could be deemed as being just a downright dirty ass player.
—EW.com, 20 Dec. 2024
This comes months after Remy was accused of cheating with a battle rapper.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The beef led to Remy Ma and Papoose exchanging cheating accusations and Shields posting her own takes on the drama.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024
The always hilarious Luke Wilson portrays down-and-out soap opera actor JD Campbell, whose money-hungry, cheating wife Margo Starling, played by Linda Cardellini, is burning through his money.
—Dana Feldman, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Revenge is sweet, but Lee Yi-kyung steals the show as her comically awful cheating husband.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Or, if not cheating, exploiting loopholes in major league baseball’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheating
Noun
-
Tacopina recently appeared on The Breakfast Club to break down key elements of the defense’s strategy in proving Rocky’s innocence, and the plaintiff’s, A$AP Relli, lies and deception.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Today the art world is reeling over not just her deception, but also the stain Ms. Schiff has left on the largely unregulated business of art advising.—
Sarah Maslin Nir,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
At the time of the case, Bryant admitted to adultery with a 19-year-old resort hotel worker in Colorado but denied the rape allegations, always maintaining that the encounter was consensual.—
George Ramsay,
CNN,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The article included other remarks related to Carter’s faith − such as the importance of the separation of church and state, a conviction born of Carter’s Southern Baptist upbringing − but the adultery comment opened a rift with Carter’s kin in Christ.—
John Bacon,
USA TODAY,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Out of all the ugly and dishonest things that Donald Trump said about Volodymyr Zelensky last week, the ugliest was not dishonest at all.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2025
-
But the contestant also feels that some of those accusing her of dishonest gameplay need only look in the mirror.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Pino’s camera records Richard lying facedown, handcuffed, while Blum steps over his legs.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Advertisement Upon entry to the hotel room, police found a 24-year-old woman lying dead with evidence of recent injuries.—
Terry Castleman,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
This is indeed a car that will reward you for hustling it down a twisty road should the desire arise.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
3 Jan. 2025
-
And for Lil Baby, one of the hottest artists out at the moment, the transition from hustling in the streets of Atlanta to earning over $100 million in record deals and endorsements came with a harsh financial wake-up call.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Sunbeam ultimately filed for bankruptcy and the SEC sued Dunlap and other top executives for engineering a massive accounting fraud.—
Matt Schifrin,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
-
For Schomburg, a tale of greed and disregard for the wider population is actually inspiring given the actions of the people who came together to expose the fraud.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Peltier has maintained his innocence and his case has been plagued with allegations of trial misconduct, conflicting testimonies, withheld evidence and potential bias among jurors.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA TODAY,
19 Feb. 2025
-
According to a police spokesman, the settlements stem from wrongful convictions dating back over two decades, with many of these cases involving not just snafus on law enforcement’s part, but also instances of prosecutorial misconduct.—
Elizabeth Keogh,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The plot concerns three main players: a suave con man (Ha Jung-woo), the low-level grifter he’s conscripted into a scheme (Kim Tae-ri), and a housebound heiress (Kim Min-hee), all locked in a duplicitous love triangle.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2025
-
Well, the duplicitous Seth Voelker/Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) has some clues.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cheating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheating. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share