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Synonyms

con man

American  
[kon man] / ˈkɒn ˌmæn /
Or conman

noun

Slang.
  1. short for confidence man.


con man British  

noun

  1. More formal term: confidence maninformal a person who swindles another by means of a confidence trick

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

In Hays: “Paper Moon,” a film about a Depression-era con man played by Ryan O’Neal and his little girl, was shot in black and white throughout Ellis County.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Before you got twisted up by this lying con man?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

Puech, the 82-year-old fifth-generation heir to one of Europe’s most iconic and profitable businesses, testified that Freymond “turned out to be a con man, even a gangster.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2025

One of the great works in the life of America’s most successful con man is only a few sell orders from being realized.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2024

“Phooey, I say, on all white-shoe college boys who edit their campus literary magazines. Give me an honest con man any day.”

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger