: something (such as a ruse) used deceptively to gain another's confidence
He knew too much about con to fall for that one …—
Herbert Gold
Herbert Gold
also
: a confidence game : swindle
conned; conning
1
: swindle
accused of conning retirees out of their savings
2
: manipulate sense 2b
He conned his way into the job.
plural cons
informal
: convention sense 2b
a comic book con
Now, such gatherings as the Further Confusion convention in San Jose, California, and Anthrocon in Philadelphia, attract more than 1,000 furry hobbyists apiece. (The Midwest FurFest is a smaller "con," with about 400 attending.)—George Gurley
George Gurley1
: an argument or evidence in opposition
2
: the negative position or one holding it
an appraisal of the pros and cons
: on the negative side : in opposition
so much has been written pro and con
: confidence
a con artist
a con game
conned; conning
1
: to commit to memory
conned the poem
2
: to study or examine closely
Clare regarded her attentively, conned the characters of her face as if they had been hieroglyphics.—Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
slang
: a destructive disease of the lungs
especially
: tuberculosis
1
consolidated
2
[Latin conjunx]
consort
3
consul
4
continued
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (1)
- beat
- bilk
- bleed
- cheat
- chisel
- chouse
- cozen
- defraud
- diddle
- do
- do in
- euchre
- fiddle
- fleece
- flimflam
- gaff
- hose [slang]
- hustle
- mulct
- nobble [British slang]
- pluck
- ream
- rip off
- rook
- screw
- shake down
- short
- shortchange
- skin
- skunk
- squeeze
- stick
- stiff
- sting
- sucker
- swindle
- thimblerig
- victimize
Noun (2)
Noun (5)
Examples of con in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a program to help ex-cons find employment
Verb (1)
a fly-by-night operator who had conned hundreds of would-be homeowners out of their hard-earned money
tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery
Noun (2)
the explanation was so plausible that I never suspected it was all a con to make off with my car
Noun (5)
usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib
seemed to be conning his face for any sign of uncertainty
Recent Examples on the Web
Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
The con wants to con, and the mark wants to believe.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Oct. 2024
Greg McKenna, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024
The pros and cons of addressing ageism in DEI strategy may be moot given the political climate, but ignoring workplace ageism altogether is not a sustainable business strategy.
—Sheila Callaham, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Meridith Alexander, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024
If making a pro/con list doesn’t help, try flipping a coin.
—Tarot.com, Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for con 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Anthony Farrer, owner of the Timepiece Gentleman, conned dozens of customers out of over $5.6 million, according to the guilty plea.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
The con wants to con, and the mark wants to believe.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Oct. 2024
Noun
The pros—and cons—of eliminating pennies Ernst’s knock on pennies was just a small part of a partisan letter that was primarily spent on attacking California public transit and the National Science Foundation.
—Greg McKenna, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024
The pros and cons of addressing ageism in DEI strategy may be moot given the political climate, but ignoring workplace ageism altogether is not a sustainable business strategy.
—Sheila Callaham, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Instead, try replacing pro/con lists with a more nuanced framework like the DeStuckifier.
—Meridith Alexander, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024
If making a pro/con list doesn’t help, try flipping a coin.
—Tarot.com, Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for con
Dictionary Entries Near con
Cite this Entry
“Con.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/con. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
con
2 of 9 verb
conned; conning
: to deceive or trick (someone) : to persuade (someone) by telling lies
conning retirees out of their money
con
3 of 9 adjective
: confidence entry 2
a con game
a con artist
con
4 of 9 noun
: convict
con
6 of 9 adverb
: on the negative side : in opposition
argue pro and con
con
7 of 9 noun
: an opposing argument, person, or position
the pros and cons of the question
con
8 of 9 verb1
: memorize
2
: to study carefully
con-
9 of 9
see com-
Etymology
Adverb
Middle English con "on the negative side, against"; a shortened form of contra "against, contrary"
Verb
Middle English connen "to know, learn," derived from can (auxiliary verb) "to know, know how to"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share