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• con
  con

  adverb

  against a proposition, opinion, etc..
• con-
  con-

  variant of com- before a consonant (exceptb, h, l, p, r ) and, by assimilation, before n: convene; condone; connection.
• con.
  con.

  abbreviation

  concerto.
• Con.
  Con.

  abbreviation

  Conformist.

con

¹ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

adverb

1. against a proposition, opinion, etc..

   arguments pro and con.

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noun

1. the argument, position, arguer, or voter against something.

   The pros of the library project are obvious, but we have to consider the cons as well.

con ² American  

[kon] / kɒn /

verb (used with object)

conned, conning

1. to swindle; trick.

   That crook conned me out of all my savings.

2. to persuade by deception, cajolery, etc..

   Don't worry, I can always con my dad into letting me use his car.

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noun

1. a confidence game or swindle.

   By the time my uncle realized she was playing a con on him, she had already left town with his rare coin collection.

2. a lie, exaggeration, or glib self-serving talk.

   He had a dozen different cons for getting out of paying traffic tickets.

adjective

1. relating to or involving abuse of confidence.

   a slick con man;

   a con trick.

con ³ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

noun

Slang.

1. a convict.

   Her brother's a con up in Elmira.

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con ⁴ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

noun

Informal.

1. a convention, especially one for fans of a particular type of popular culture.

   sci-fi, gaming, and anime cons.

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con ⁵ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

verb (used with object)

conned, conning

1. to learn; study; peruse or examine carefully.

   She's been conning her grandfather's medical diaries for months.

2. to commit to memory.

   I have conned the state capitals in alphabetical order, from Albany to Trenton.

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con ⁶ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

Or conn

verb (used with object)

conned, conning

1. to direct the steering of (a ship).

   conning the freighter into port.

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noun

1. the station of the person who cons.

   You will assume the con, ensign.

2. the act of conning.

   Storms from the northeast made for a difficult con.

con ⁷ American  

[kon] / kɒn /

verb (used with object)

British Dialect.

conned, conning

1. to strike, hit, or rap (something or someone).

   We think he was conned with a cricket bat.

2. to hammer (a nail or peg).

   Who knew conning tacks into the new carpet would take so long?

3. to beat or thrash (a person) with the hands or a weapon.

   He conned the poor guy in the pub for no apparent reason.

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con- ⁸ American  

1. variant of com- before a consonant (exceptb, h, l, p, r ) and, by assimilation, before n: convene; condone; connection.

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con. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. concerto.

2. conclusion.

3. connection.

4. consolidated.

5. consul.

6. continued.

7. against.

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Con. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. Conformist.

2. Consul.

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con ¹ British  

/ kɒn /

noun

1. 1. short for confidence trick

   2. ( as modifier )

      con man

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verb

1. (tr) to swindle or defraud

con ² British  

/ kɒn /

noun

1. an argument or vote against a proposal, motion, etc

2. a person who argues or votes against a proposal, motion, etc

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con ³ British  

/ kɒn /

verb

1. (tr) to direct the steering of (a vessel)

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noun

1. the place where a person who cons a vessel is stationed

Con. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Conservative

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con ⁵ British  

/ kɒn /

noun

1. slang short for convict

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con ⁶ British  

/ kɒn /

verb

1. archaic (tr) to study attentively or learn (esp in the phrase con by rote )

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con ⁷ British  

/ kɒn /

preposition

1. music with

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con- ⁸ British  

prefix

1. a variant of com-

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Etymology

Origin of con¹

First recorded in 1575–85; short for Latin contrā “in opposition, against”

Origin of con²

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening of confidence

Origin of con³

First recorded in 1715–25; by shortening

Origin of con⁴

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

Origin of con⁵

First recorded before 1000; Middle English cunnen, Old English cunnan, variant of can ¹ in sense “become acquainted with, learn to know”

Origin of con⁶

First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier cond, apocopated variant of Middle English condie, condue, from Middle French cond(u)ire, from Latin condūcere “to conduct”

Origin of con⁷

First recorded in 1890–95; perhaps akin to French cognée “hatchet,” cogner “to knock in, drive (a nail) home”

Origin of con-⁸

From Latin

Origin of con.⁹

From the Latin word contrā

Explanation

A con, or confidence game, is a swindle — when you take advantage of someone's trust. If you con someone out of their life savings, you might wind up a con — as in convict. The word con has many meanings, none of them good. An argument has pros and cons, and the cons are always the downside. An ex-con is someone who spent time in jail as a convict, and a con artist is someone who scams people out of their money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

con con- con. Con. conned conning

Below them is John, in prison regarding the aforementioned gas scam; a career con man, he skimmed that missing $10 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Even worse, recognizing the long con has degraded offline interactions as well.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

Portable air con units are easy to set up, use and move around homes.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

That’s most likely to happen not because you’re stupid or greedy, but because you’re vulnerable—and because the con artist knows exactly how to fabricate trustworthiness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

If I could lie to the American government, then I could con my way through a conversation with some shady college kid.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

But you don’t want any con- tentious relationships in play before the green flag drops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2016

“This is no small task, but the con- sequences for food and ecosystem security could not be bigger.”

From Time ● Feb. 4, 2016

Our history began with networking computers together and then con- necting up the networks for the sake of efficiency and resource sharing and remote access.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 21, 2013

She has been vilified in news reports around the world and called a “professional con- artist,” Thompson wrote in the filing.

From BusinessWeek ● Aug. 8, 2011

It was in its way the logical consequence of Bedegraine—the con- tinuation of But battle on a European aeale.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

"It's not a con. It's an attempt to set up a new distinction in the world of academia - an attempt that failed," he is reported as saying.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

“I don’t really care what happens to him personally. I’m not pro, I’m not con. I just think some people might want the shirt.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2023

“This was all the long con. We’ve been wearing ’em just to get you to look stupid.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2020

We went about another 500 yards and the Navigator Lieutenant, Rob Chadwick, said: “this is the navigator. I have the con. All engines back full.”

From MSNBC ● Oct. 16, 2019

“It’s pro and con. So you should go first.”

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

“It’s Comic Con. They’re always fun,” said Reid, also known for her roles in “American Pie” and “The Big Lebowski.”

From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2016

“Word spread pretty quickly about Amazing Hawaii Con. That took everyone by storm.”

From Washington Times ● Jul. 25, 2015

“I don’t know, Con. But if you get dressed fast, we can all head down to the breakfast buffet and have some more of those waffles.”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

“Don’t worry, Con. It wasn’t anything like that.”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

“I’m sorry, Con. You know I’m worried about Shae, too.”

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

Lexington, Ky., was conned out of $3.9 million a year later, but authorities seized all of it from a private bank account.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

How a master of deception conned investors out of $50 million — in his own words.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

The second, Joan, a middle-aged heiress in Florida, was conned by Ken into believing that he was Jewish and a canny businessman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

He invested in and then reputedly conned the 1980s rich-kids “Billionaire Boys Club” private-school students’ investment group.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

It’s played barefoot by idiots like Marv, who’s conned me into playing the last few years.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

“She was a con artist. She was conning the government, and men,” Perry says.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

How do I set it up to help protect his assets from possibly someone who is conning him?

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 1, 2025

Yet it was this exact determination—to build power in an inherently flawed system—that turned him into the conning strategist he became.

From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2024

A pensioner who was jailed a decade ago for conning friends out of £2.5m has been sent back to prison after defrauding a neighbour out of more than £100,000.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2024

And then the lighthouse beam swept past, and in its gleam I realized they weren’t fins at all but a conning tower and a giant bolted-down gun.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• bamboozle
• bilk
• dupe
• hoodwink
• swindle
• wheedle