English verb: diddle | |||
1. | diddle (social) deprive of by deceit | ||
Samples | He swindled me out of my inheritance. She defrauded the customers who trusted her. The cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change. | ||
Examples | They diddle him of all his money | ||
Synonyms | bunco, con, defraud, gip, goldbrick, gyp, hornswoggle, mulct, nobble, rook, scam, short-change, swindle, victimize | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody. Somebody ----s somebody PP | ||
Broader (hypernym) | cheat, chisel, rip off | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | short, short-change | ||
2. | diddle (contact) manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination | ||
Samples | She played nervously with her wedding ring. Don't fiddle with the screws. He played with the idea of running for the Senate. | ||
Synonyms | fiddle, play, toy | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s PP | ||
Broader (hypernym) | manipulate | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | put out, retire | ||