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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Defalcation

[ˌdɛfəɫˈkeɪʃən] · noun

Meaning

(law) The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant..

Definitions by Sense

  1. (law) The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant.
  2. Embezzlement.

Example Sentences

Granting that Mr. Ireland had gone into his office at ten minutes to ten o'clock at night for the purpose of extracting £5000 worth of notes and gold from the bank safe, whilst giving the theft the appearance of a night burglary; […] why should he, at nine o'clock the following morning, fall in a dead faint and get cerebral congestion at sight of a defalcation he knew had occurred?
“Why should Eldridge commit murder?[…]There was only one possible motive—namely, he wished to avoid detection as James Selby of Anaconda Ltd. He had settled down in Estrepps. There were several persons in the town who had suffered from his defalcations.[…]”

Synonyms for defalcation

embezzlementmisappropriationpeculationmisapplication

Antonyms for defalcation

Related Words

embezzlementpeculationmisappropriationmisapplicationdefrayaldefeasancewrite-offabatementdefacementofftakeabatefalloffdefundingdeflationdiscalceationderogationavoidancedetractionsubtractingdefunder

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does defalcation mean?

Defalcation means (law) The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant..

What is a synonym for defalcation?

Common synonyms include embezzlement, misappropriation, peculation, misapplication.

What is the opposite of defalcation?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use defalcation in a sentence?

Granting that Mr. Ireland had gone into his office at ten minutes to ten o'clock at night for the purpose of extracting £5000 worth of notes and gold from the bank safe, whilst giving the theft the appearance of a night burglary; […] why should he, at nine o'clock the following morning, fall in a dead faint and get cerebral congestion at sight of a defalcation he knew had occurred?

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.