Cozenage

//ˈkʌzənɪd͡ʒ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The fact or practice of cozening; cheating, deception. uncountable

    "They ſay this tovvne is full of coſenage: / As nimble Iuglers that deceiue the eie: […]"

  2. 2
    a fraudulent business scheme wordnet
  3. 3
    An instance of cozening; a scam. countable

    "When I receive your Lines, my dear Princess, and find there Expressions of a Passion; though Reason and my own Immerit tell me, it must not be for me; yet is the Cozenage so pleasing to me, that I (brib'd by my own Desires) believe them still before the other."

Example

More examples

"They say this town is full of cozenage."

Etymology

From cozen + -age.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.