Synonyms

confidence trick

British

noun

Informal shortened forms: con trick. con game. a swindle involving money, goods, etc, in which the victim's trust is won by the swindler

"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.

Investigators are trying to figure out if the fraudsters research their victims or whether they are using a confidence trick.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2022

But, the novel reveals, Mercer is just an elderly actor, desperate for work; the religion is a confidence trick.

From The Guardian • Aug. 27, 2017

It is essentially a confidence trick that influences a person to take action that may not be in their best interest.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2015

“This report is a sham, this report is a whitewash, this report is a confidence trick dressed up as independent scrutiny and given invisible clothes of reliability,” she said.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2012

Public speaking, like writing, is in many ways a confidence trick.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023