defraudado

Defraudado is a past participle used as an adjective in Spanish and Portuguese to describe a person who has been deceived or swindled, i.e., a victim of fraud. It derives from verbs meaning to defraud (defraudar in Spanish; fraudar or defraudar in Portuguese) and shares a common root with other terms for deception. The root traces to Latin fraus, or deceit.

In usage, defraudado can modify nouns or be used predicatively: for example, “El cliente fue defraudado” (The customer was defrauded). In Spanish, it agrees with gender and number: defraudado/defraudada, defraudados/defraudadas. In Portuguese, the adjective likewise reflects gender and number, and appears in contexts describing victims or fraudulent acts.

In legal and formal contexts, related terms include defraicación or defraudación in Spanish for the act or crime of fraud, and fraude or estelionato in Portuguese for similar offenses. The adjective defraudado is commonly found in news reports, consumer protection communications, and everyday language to designate people harmed by fraud or to describe fraudulent schemes.

See also: defraudar, fraude, estafa (Spanish), estelionato (Portuguese). Notes: spelling, pronunciation, and exact usage vary by country and dialect. The term is generally neutral, though legal contexts may require precise terminology aligned with local law.