fraudulence
nounUK /ˈfɹɔː.djʊ.l(ə)ns/ · US /ˈfɹɔ.d͡ʒə.ləns/
Etymology From Old French fraudulence, from Latin fraudulentia (“deceitfulness, disposition to defraud; fraudulence”), from fraudulentus (“deceitful, fraudulent”) + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns). Fraudulentus is derived from fraus (“deceit, fraud”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrew- (“to mislead”)) + -ulentus (“abounding in, full of”).
1
The condition of being fraudulent; deceitfulness.
- I ſuppoſe ſome of my friends, to whom I read the firſt part, gave notice of my deſign, and, perhaps, ſold the treacherous intelligence at a higher price than the fraudulence of trade will now allow me for my book.1759 May 5, Samuel Johnson, “[The Idler]”, in The Universal Chronicle, or, Weekly Gazette, number 55, [London]: [J. Payne], →OCLC; republished in The Works of Samuel Johnson, new edition, volume VII, London: Printed for T[homas] Longman et al., 1796, page 223:
- We should therefore not make too much of the fraudulence of all that on-screen wailing. Just because North Korean TV never films anything before rehearsing all spontaneity out of it does not mean the average citizen was unmoved.2012 January 7, B. R. Myers, “Dynasty, North Korean-style”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jan 2012:
1 more example
- Among other fraudulences, Enron perfected the art of “mark to market” accounting, tagging mere estimates of future profits as actual on-the-books assets.2015, Elizabeth Hass, Terry Christensen, Peter J. Haas, Projecting Politics: Political Messages in American Films, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.; Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 280:
- Related terms
- defraud, defrauder, defrauding, fraud, fraudster, fraudulent, fraudulently