CON (conned, conning)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: conned    , conning   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does con mean? 

• CON (noun)
  The noun CON has 3 senses:

1. an argument opposed to a proposal

2. a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison

3. a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property

  Familiarity information: CON used as a noun is uncommon.

• CON (verb)
  The verb CON has 2 senses:

1. deprive of by deceit

2. commit to memory; learn by heart

  Familiarity information: CON used as a verb is rare.

• CON (adverb)
  The adverb CON has 1 sense:

1. in opposition to a proposition, opinion, etc.

  Familiarity information: CON used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An argument opposed to a proposal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("con" is a kind of...):

argument; statement (a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true)

Antonym:

pro (an argument in favor of a proposal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A person serving a sentence in a jail or prison

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

con; convict; inmate; yard bird; yardbird

Hypernyms ("con" is a kind of...):

captive; prisoner (a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "con"):

lifer (a prisoner serving a term of life imprisonment)

trusty (a convict who is considered trustworthy and granted special privileges)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bunco; bunco game; bunko; bunko game; con; con game; confidence game; confidence trick; flimflam; hustle; sting

Hypernyms ("con" is a kind of...):

cheat; rig; swindle (the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "con"):

sting operation (a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals))

Derivation:

con (deprive of by deceit)

• CON (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they con    ... he / she / it cons   
Past simple: conned   
Past participle: conned   
-ing form: conning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Deprive of by deceit

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bunco; con; defraud; diddle; goldbrick; hornswoggle; mulct; nobble; rook; scam; short-change; swindle; victimize

Context example:

She defrauded the customers who trusted her

Hypernyms (to "con" is one way to...):

cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "con"):

short; short-change (cheat someone by not returning him enough money)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sentence example:

They con him of all his money

Derivation:

con (a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Commit to memory; learn by heart

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

con; learn; memorise; memorize

Context example:

Have you memorized your lines for the play yet?

Hypernyms (to "con" is one way to...):

hit the books; study (learn by reading books)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "con"):

alternate; understudy (be an understudy or alternate for a role)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

• CON (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In opposition to a proposition, opinion, etc.

Context example:

much was written pro and con

Antonym:

pro (in favor of a proposition, opinion, etc.)

 Context examples 

All the way in, Long John stood by the steersman and conned the ship.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A genetic counselor can provide information about the pros and cons of testing.

(Genetic Testing, NIH: National Human Genome Research Institute)

Similar lists were on the wall over the oil-stove, and they were similarly conned while he was engaged in cooking or in washing the dishes.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

All of these options have pros and cons. What is right for one woman may not be right for another.

(Breast Reconstruction, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Tell your beads, father, and con your psalter, but do not come between me and those whom the king has given to me!

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was the hour of study; they were engaged in conning over their to-morrow's task, and the hum I had heard was the combined result of their whispered repetitions.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I picture my small self in the dimly-lighted rooms, sitting with my head upon my hand, listening to the doleful performance of Mr. Mell, and conning tomorrow's lessons.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And he conned the grub of the cache and the grub of the Hudson Bay Company post over and over again.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Mrs. Jennings, though forced, on examination, to acknowledge a temporary revival, tried to keep her young friend from indulging a thought of its continuance;—and Elinor, conning over every injunction of distrust, told herself likewise not to hope.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I sat there, sturdily conning my books, until dinner-time (we were out of school for good at three); and went down, hopeful of becoming a passable sort of boy yet.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)