con 1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈkän How to pronounce con (audio)
Definition of connext
as in prisoner
a person convicted as a criminal and serving a prison sentence a program to help ex-cons find employment

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con

2 of 4

noun (2)

as in scam
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value the explanation was so plausible that I never suspected it was all a con to make off with my car

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con

3 of 4

verb (1)

1
as in to study
to commit to memory usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to scan
to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition) seemed to be conning his face for any sign of uncertainty

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

con

4 of 4

verb (2)

1
as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats a fly-by-night operator who had conned hundreds of would-be homeowners out of their hard-earned money

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2
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of con
Noun
Cramer detailed the pros and cons under the famous golden arches. — Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2026 As for potential cons, Mahnken says the biggest is the number of sea days. — Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
The year is 1975, the place is Vassar College, and Tony is attempting to con his way into a fellowship in order to pen a novel. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026 When Stapley was 10, her mother lost her life’s savings after being conned by a couple posing as investors. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for con
Recent Examples of Synonyms for con
  1. prisoner
  2. scam
  3. study
  4. scan
  5. cheat
  6. trick
  7. convict
  8. learn
Noun
  • Hospital staff were working to save Pike's life and as of late Thursday were trying to clear the two doses of the drug that the state uses to execute prisoners, her lawyers wrote in a Friday filing in Davidson County Chancery Court.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Silver found that prisoners remained exposed to grave threats of harm and suffering because of systematic deficiencies in their healthcare.
    — Jacques Billeaud, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of prisoner
Noun
  • Any outreach requesting an application fee or payment to be considered for the list is a scam.
    — Kelli Grant, CFP®,Riley de León, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • According to Harris' office, Harris and Steckloff worked together on the bipartisan legislation after hearing increasing concerns about gift card scams affecting consumers across Michigan.
    — Karma Sabbah, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of scam
Verb
  • These adjectives express the behavior that Reilly studied movies to learn how to suppress.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Ardiyansyah advises that people visiting Borobudur study the reliefs along the temple walls, which show scenes from the life of the Buddha.
    — Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of study
Verb
  • The researchers had previously detected CDWs on the material’s surface using scanning tunneling microscopy, but something did not fit, as magnetic fields could destroy the waves.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Boorady spent 10 hours in the real Oval Office this summer, taking photographs and scanning every one of those gold fixtures, documenting every detail, and then copying them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of scan
Verb
  • The company remains one of the world’s largest automakers and carries the legacy of Dieselgate, the emissions-cheating scandal that cost it billions of dollars in fines, settlements and other penalties.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • At the same time, as families pour more resources into preparing young people for the exams, frequent cheating scandals and test cancellations can make their investment moot.
    — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheat
Verb
  • RatHat relies heavily on tricking someone into installing a malicious Android app and approving powerful permissions.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In 1943, the British intelligence service, MI6, came up with a wacky strategy to trick Adolf Hitler into thinking the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia (not true) instead of Sicily (true), which Nazi Germany was heavily defending.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of trick
Noun
  • If the convict can help transport the loot from that camp to a safe space far from the government’s prying eyes, the warden will punch his get-outta-jail-free card.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Nor could Grossman write about collaborators or the punishment battalions composed of convicts that were used as cannon fodder (one of many parallels between the conduct of the Soviet army and the present-day Russian military in Ukraine).
    — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of convict
Verb
  • Carmella is also still mad at Vicki for saying that Danny is raising her kids, and Heather is angry after learning that Vicki called her fake in Palm Springs.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Other races would learn what to capture and how to protocolize it.
    — Vibhu Krishna, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of learn

Phrases Containing con

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Comstockery
con
concatenate
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Cite this Entry

“Con.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/con. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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