Con
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A disadvantage of something, especially when contrasted with its advantages (pros).
"pros and cons"
- 2 A convicted criminal, a convict. slang
- 3 A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain. informal
"My heart is breaking for my sister And the con that she called "love""
- 4 Alternative form of conn (“navigational direction of a ship”). alt-of, alternative, uncountable
- 5 An organized gathering, such as a convention, conference, or congress. informal
"I can't speak for Faye as ed of FHAPA, but it would be really swell of someone could send us a set of Intersection daily newszines, plus any con flyers or other fannish papers that were there to had for the picking up: fannish things, you know, not including media, gaming, filking or costuming, fine fun but not my cup of blog, thank you."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 The conversion of part of a building. informal
"We're getting a loft con done next year."
- 7 Consumption; pulmonary tuberculosis. informal, obsolete, uncountable
- 8 Squirrel, particularly the red squirrel. dialectal, obsolete
- 9 A political conservative. abbreviation
"own the cons"
- 10 Abbreviation of consolidation: only used in naming. abbreviation, alt-of, no-plural
- 11 Initialism of Certificate of Need. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 12 a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property wordnet
- 13 A squirrel's nest. Northern-England, obsolete
- 14 Initialism of constitution point. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 15 an argument opposed to a proposal wordnet
- 16 a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison wordnet
- 1 To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart. rare
"For Caſſius is a-weary of the World: / Hated by one he loues, brau'd by his Brother, / Check'd like a bondman, all his faults obſeru'd, / Set in a Note-booke, learn'd, and con'd by roate / To caſt into my Teeth."
- 2 To trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain. informal, transitive
"Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals [title]"
- 3 Alternative form of conn (“direct a ship”). alt-of, alternative
- 4 commit to memory; learn by heart wordnet
- 5 To know; understand; acknowledge. obsolete, rare
"Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 deprive of by deceit wordnet
- 1 Abbreviation of consolidated: only used in naming. abbreviation, alt-of, not-comparable
- 1 in opposition to a proposition, opinion, etc. wordnet
- 1 A male given name, a diminutive form of Conor or Cornelius.
- 2 Abbreviation of Conservative Party. UK, abbreviation, alt-of
- 3 A female given name, a diminutive form of Connie.
- 4 Abbreviation of Conservative. UK, abbreviation, alt-of
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Con artists take advantage of the credulity of inexperienced investors and swindle them out of their money."
Etymology
Etymology tree Middle English connen English con Inherited from Middle English connen, inherited from Old English cunnan (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan (“recognize, know how”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”) Doublet of can.
Abbreviation of Latin contrā (“against”).
Clipping of convict.
From con trick, shortened from confidence trick.
From earlier cond; see conn.
Clipping of convention or conference.
Clipping of conversion.
Clipping of consumption.
Origin uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of Middle English acquerne, aquerne, ocquerne, okerne (“squirrel”), from Old English ācweorna, āqueorna, āquorna, ācurna (“squirrel”), from Proto-West Germanic *aikwernō, from Proto-Germanic *aikwernô (“squirrel”); or from its Old Norse cognate íkorni (“squirrel”), from the same ultimate source. Cognate with West Frisian iikhoarn (“squirrel”), Dutch eekhoorn (“squirrel”), German Eichhorn (“squirrel”), Icelandic íkorni (“squirrel”).
Clipping of conservative; compare lib.
Clipping of consolidation or consolidated.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.