🚫 A child abuser 🛋️ A time-waster 💸 A small cheat

diddler

8.6

A person who cheats others to get small amounts of money

noun
/ˈdɪd.lər/

Offensive

: timador

Beware of any diddler who offers deals that seem too good to be true.

Examples

Don't be such a diddler and pay your debts!
The police arrested the diddler after several people reported being tricked out of small amounts of money.
The old man realized too late that the friendly stranger was actually a diddler.
The street vendor is a known diddler who tricks tourists.
The con artist was known as a diddler who deceived his clients with fake investments.
Don't be such a diddler; it’s time to get serious about your work instead of wasting time.
He was caught cheating at cards, proving once again that he was a clever diddler.

Synonyms

crook

vsdiddler

Offensive

153 3.9

A dishonest person who cheats or steals

usually refers to petty wrongdoing rather than broader criminal behaviour

cheater

vsdiddler

Offensive

112 2.6

A person who breaks the rules or lies to get an advantage

often points to rule breaking or unfair play rather than focused swindling

cheat

vsdiddler

Offensive

55 2.6

A person who acts dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage

is more about small dishonest acts not always aimed at stealing money

scoundrel

vsdiddler

Offensive

51 6.5

A person who behaves dishonestly and hurts others by lying or stealing

is a broader moral judgement rather than a term for petty financial cheating

con artist

vsdiddler

40 4.8

A person who tricks people by gaining their trust to take their money or valuables

often refers to smaller personal confidence tricks rather than organised fraud

scammer

vsdiddler

NSFW

20 4.0

A person who tricks others to take their money or things

often indicates small online or informal tricks rather than organised fraud

trickster

vsdiddler

20 6.0

A person who lies to or cheats others, often to have fun

often has a playful or mischievous tone rather than purely monetary intent

grifter

vsdiddler

Slang

16 9.1

A person who tricks others to get their money or things

usually implies informal petty schemes rather than planned criminal operations

swindler

vsdiddler

15 5.4

A person who tricks people to take their money

is more associated with small petty scams rather than grand theft

shyster

vsdiddler

Offensive

14 9.9

A person, often a lawyer or politician, who acts dishonestly to get what they want

adds occupational or unethical connotation not implied by simple petty cheating

duper

vsdiddler

Offensive

13 7.9

A person who tricks others to take their money or things

often refers to small or temporary deception rather than systematic fraud

sleazeball

vsdiddler

Offensive

7 8.2

A person who is dishonest and treats others badly

is stronger and more insulting rather than strictly describing petty cheating

carny

vsdiddler

Offensive

3 9.2

A person who tricks others to get their money

is more informal and tied to streetwise schemes than small private swindles

defrauder

vsdiddler

Formal

1 7.9

A person who gets money by lying to or tricking people

usually describes smaller petty deception rather than formal criminal schemes

rooker

vsdiddler

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who cheats others to get money or things

means the same idea but is outdated and rarely used in modern speech

bamboozler

vsdiddler

Informal

1 7.8

A person who tricks or cheats people, often as a joke

tends to mean playful petty trickery rather than calculated financial swindles

wangler

vsdiddler

1 9.9

A person who tricks others using clever, dishonest methods to get what they want

suggests crafty methods which may be petty rather than large scale theft

cozener

vsdiddler

Archaic

9.9

A person who tricks people to get their money or things

tends to cheat in smaller more petty ways rather than major fraud

swizz

vsdiddler

Offensive

9.9

A person who tricks others to take their money

is commonly used for minor dishonest acts rather than major crimes

flimflammer

vsdiddler

Archaic

9.9

A person who cheats others with tricks or fake deals

usually suggests petty informal schemes rather than serious organised criminality

finagler

vsdiddler

Offensive

9.8

A person who gets things by tricking or lying to others

implies crafty petty manipulation rather than outright criminal fraud or theft

magsman

vsdiddler

Archaic

9.9

A person who tricks others using clever talk to take their money

has the same basic meaning but sounds archaic and out of date

boodler

vsdiddler

Offensive

9.9

A person who takes money unfairly by accepting bribes

has a narrower political corruption sense unlike general small personal scams

Antonyms

honest

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

straight shooter

Informal

13 3.7

A person who tells the truth in a direct, honest way

Compounds

child diddler

Offensive

9.9

A person who sexually abuses children

How Deceptive

con artist

40 4.8

swindler

15 5.4

cheat

Offensive

55 2.6

diddler

Offensive

8.6

trickster

20 6.0

Surface Forms

diddler singular

diddlers plural

Morphology

diddler = diddle (transparent) = diddle + er

Regular agent-noun formation from the verb 'diddle' meaning 'to cheat', so the meaning 'one who cheats' follows directly.

Etymology

Diddler comes from the informal verb diddle, which means 'to cheat' or 'to trick', and the ending -er makes it 'a person who does that'. So a diddler is someone who tricks people, often in small or petty ways.