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Synonyms

con game

American  

noun

Slang.
  1. confidence game.


Etymology

Origin of con game

First recorded in 1950–55

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.

See Examples For:

"Stefan Pildes promoted SantaCon as an event grounded in charitable giving, but instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game," US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

From BBC Apr. 15, 2026

Great acting is a con game, of the highest order, and it’s a pleasure to be Moore’s mark.

From Seattle Times Feb. 16, 2023

Durant was a con game presented by the front office — even if they were conning themselves.

From Washington Times Jun. 7, 2022

The only ones to suffer here might be the institutions of higher learning themselves, many of which are running a con game for their own financial benefit.

From Washington Post Jan. 28, 2022

In the spirit of their shipboard con game, they continued to spin out false histories for themselves, inventing brothers and sisters with plausible names, cousins with moral shortcomings, in-laws with facial tics.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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