Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

con- ⁸ American  

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

---

con. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. concerto.

2. conclusion.

3. connection.

4. consolidated.

5. consul.

6. continued.

7. against.

---

Con. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. Conformist.

2. Consul.

---

con ¹ British  

/ kɒn /

noun

1. 1. short for confidence trick

   2. ( as modifier )

      con man

---

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

---

con ³ British  

/ kɒn /

verb

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

---

noun

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

Con. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Conservative

---

con ⁵ British  

/ kɒn /

noun

1. slang short for convict

---

con ⁶ British  

/ kɒn /

verb

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

---

con ⁷ British  

/ kɒn /

preposition

1. music with

---

con- ⁸ British  

prefix

1. a variant of com-

---

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

A chorus of testimony from people who were once closest to Musk builds a profile of a megalomaniacal con artist.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

You can be a con for a long time and then you realize, oh, this is just a character.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

She said the sector had many decent businesses which were "undermined by far too many cowboys, crooks and con artists".

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

I corresponded with con artists and attended a strange “medical” appointment that promised me invisible surgery and extraterrestrial matchmaking.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Papi and I sat at the table, while she drifted in and out of the kitchen bringing us food, water, a chunk of bread, and finally, a steaming cup of sweetened café con leche.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

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

But I remember, while we were waiting in the corridor—I remember being feverish and nervous as hell, but con- fident.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

"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

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

Popping on a black headband with a big glittery bow on it, she said, “This is Little Comic Con. I’m guessing people dress up in costumes? Go all out?”

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Shae said, “That is a sweet tale, Con. But what’s the moral of the story?”

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

“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

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

"We've both been conned, useful idiots, which is not a very nice way to put it, but we've been used," says Elma.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Amie Donaghey, 21, told BBC News NI she was left with a criminal conviction after being conned by a ghost broker.

From BBC ● May 19, 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

She’d just been conned by a senior citizen.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

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

It also had two watertight hatches for entering and leaving the vessel, one at the front and another at the rear, and two short conning towers equipped with small portholes.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• bamboozle
• bilk
• cajole
• deceive
• defraud
• dupe
• hoodwink
• scam
• swindle
• trick

---