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Glite Dictionary
peculator

peculator

1 9.9
A person who steals money or property trusted to them
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛkjʊˌleɪtər/
  • Formal
translation icon : malversador
  • The peculator was finally caught after years of deceit.

Examples

  • The company's accountant was revealed to be a peculator who had diverted thousands of dollars for personal use.

  • Even trusted officials can sometimes turn out to be peculators, betraying the organizations they serve.

  • As a notorious peculator, he was charged with several counts of fraud and theft.

  • Many peculators have been prosecuted in recent years.

  • The accountant was arrested for being a peculator after millions went missing from the company's funds.

  • During the investigation, they discovered that the trusted manager was a peculator who had stolen large sums from the payroll.

  • To their shock, the charity found that their treasurer had turned out to be a peculator, diverting donations for personal use.

Synonyms

swindler
vspeculator
15 5.4

A person who tricks people to take their money

is focused on misusing entrusted money rather than tricking unrelated victims
embezzler
vspeculator
5 7.4

A person who takes money they were trusted with, often from their employer

is about misappropriating entrusted funds or property rather than general deceit
defalcator
vspeculator
  • Formal
9.9

A person who steals money they were trusted to look after

is the same misappropriation idea but expressed in more technical legal terms

How Dishonest

peculator
  • Formal
1 9.9
swindler
15 5.4
thief
754 1.0

Surface Forms

peculator singular
peculators plural

Morphology

peculator = peculate (semi-transparent) = peculate + or

Formed regularly by adding the agentive suffix '-or' to 'peculate' (to embezzle); the morphological relation is clear but the verb 'peculate' is rare and Latin-derived, so average learners may not recognize the base.

Etymology

The word peculator comes from the Latin root pecu-, which means 'cattle' because animals were once the main form of wealth. From that came the idea of 'property' or 'money', so a peculator is someone who secretly takes money or goods that were trusted to them.