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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

Jonathan, who had dealt with both real police and con artists before, said it was hard in the moment to tell which side he was talking to.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

A government spokesperson said: "People's homes must be designed to minimise unwanted heat and developers can choose to install air con in buildings. We're reviewing these rules to ensure they're as effective as possible."

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

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

“Lucky” on Apple TV features Anya Taylor-Joy as a con artist on the run.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Papi angrily picks his way through the arroz con pollo, pushing the pieces of chicken to the edge of his plate.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

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

It begins quietly shipping information back and forth over the available capacity of its con- nection to the .

From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 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

NOTE.—The forms co-, col-, com-, and cor-, are euphonic variations of con-.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

“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

"It seems like a bit of a con. They're trying to pull money out of people, pushing people through court cases," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2022

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

He said: “If you like, this has been a great big science con. We’ve been talking about science the entire time and we’re using the monsters as bait.”

From The Guardian ● Sep. 5, 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

“It’s okay, Con. You should go with Mom. Hold her hand in the parking lot, and look both ways when you’re going across the crosswalks, okay?”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

“You’re going to need to be brave for her, Con. You’re going to need to be real, real brave for her.”

From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

“That’s great, Con. Now let me go. Please.”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

But after referee Jalal Jayed made his way over to the pitchside monitor at the recommendation of the VAR and ruled the goal out, Shearer said on BBC One the Paraguayan had "conned the referee".

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

A woman conned by her accountant decades ago is staring at a six-figure tax bill after the Supreme Court refused to hear her case.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 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

A romance fraudster who conned men into spending tens of thousands of pounds to fund her lavish lifestyle has been jailed.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

He had successfully conned Renault and Leon and The Vigils and the whole damn school.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

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

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 1, 2025

Three Southern California men are accused of conning over 100 victims — most of them elderly — into transferring funds over fraudulent security concerns or by way of falsified real estate sales.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 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

He’s very good at conning millions of people into buying his grift.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2024

On one wall, flashers and safety overrides blinked to indicate that there were electric malfunctions and topside failures, probably from having the conning deck go under.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Related Words

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