frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

defraud v. cheat, swindle, trick, beguile, cozen, dupe, delude, fool,
bilk, fleece, victimize, take in, deceive, humbug, hoodwink,
flimflam, Colloq do, diddle, con, slip one over on, put
(something) over on, pull a fast one on, fast-talk, rope in,, US
take; Slang take for a ride, gyp, rob, rip off, rook; Dialect
flam: Shareholders are defrauded by insider trading schemes.
defray v. pay, settle, meet, discharge, liquidate, clear, cover,
reimburse, Colloq pick up the bill or tab or US check (for),
foot the bill (for): The company defrays the cost of all
travelling expenses.
defunct adj. 1 dead, deceased, extinct: The dinosaurs have been
defunct for millions of years. 2 inoperative, inapplicable,
unused, unusable, invalid, expired, obsolete, pass‚, dead,
expired, non-existent, outmoded, out: Although still on the
books, that law is defunct.
defy v. 1 challenge, dare, face, confront, brave, stand up to,
flout, brazen out, thumb one's nose at, Colloq Brit cock a snook
at: The defendant defied the prosecutor to prove the
allegations. 2 frustrate, thwart, baffle, resist, withstand,
repel, disobey, repulse: Her feats of legerdemain defy the
imagination. Copeley has invented a device that defies the law
of gravity.
degenerate
adj. 1 debased, degraded, corrupt, corrupted, vitiated,
decadent, depraved, reprobate, dissolute, ignoble, base, low,
inferior, vile: He was a degenerate descendant of a once noble
lineage. Ben sank into the depths of a degenerate existence
after Penelope left him.
--v. 2 decline, deteriorate, decay, sink, worsen; backslide,
regress, retrogress, weaken, go to the dogs, go to rack and
ruin, Colloq go to pot: He felt that art had degenerated since
the days of Rembrandt.
--n. 3 reprobate, debauchee, wastrel, profligate, rake,
rakehell, rou‚; pervert, deviate: The detective said that only
a degenerate could have committed such a crime.