con artist
Americannoun
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a person adept at lying, cajolery, or glib self-serving talk.
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a person adept at swindling by means of confidence games; swindler.
Usage
What does con artist mean? A con artist is a person who cheats people out of something (usually money or other valuables) through some kind of deceitful scheme. More generally, the term is used to refer to someone who’s good at deceiving people for their own gain. In con artist, the word con is short for confidence, a reference to how they gain their victims’ trust in order to cheat them. The same term is used in con man (a male con artist). The word artist in this context simply refers to a person who is skillful (in this case, at trickery and deception). Example: I can’t believe how many people are falling for this guy’s tricks—he’s clearly a con artist who’s going to cheat and pocket all the money.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A con artist, a music-industry legend and the feud over a masterpiece.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 12, 2026
Along the way, she forges an unexpected partnership with Nick, a solitary fox whose past as a con artist proves to be a valuable asset in uniform.
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
The con artist in Ritter’s novel is a young woman with a murky past and visions of absconded riches who is ensnared in an elaborate swindle that recalls David Mamet at his most labyrinthine.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025
When host Julianne Hough asked what Delvey would take away from the short-lived experience — having danced in only two rounds of the competition — the convicted con artist bluntly replied, "Nothing."
From Salon • Sep. 25, 2024
This Valencia girl was nothing more than a con artist.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
