con

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 Synonyms bunco (or bunko), con, fiddle [chiefly British], flimflam, gyp, hustle, scam, shell game, sting, swindleRelated Words cross, fix; Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme; racket, rip-off; thimblerig, three-card monte; device, dodge, gimmick, jig, ploy, scheme, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile; gouging, overcharging, soaking; counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

1 to commit to memory usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib Synonyms con, learn, studyRelated Words hark back (to), mind [chiefly dialect], recall, recollect, relive, remember, reminisce (about), retain, think (of); accept, apprehend, comprehend, get, grasp, know, understand; absorb, digestNear Antonyms disremember, forget, misremember; disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, slur (over)Antonyms unlearn

2 to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition) seemed to be conning his face for any sign of romantic interest Synonyms audit, check (out), con, examine, overlook, oversee, review, scan, scrutinize, survey, viewRelated Words notice, observe, watch; comb, peruse, pore (over); analyze, dissect, parse; delve (into), explore, investigate, plumb, probe, research, study; categorize, classify; pick over; reinspect, rereview, resurveyNear Antonyms skim; glance (at or over); miss, overlook

1 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 Synonyms beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, flimflam, gaff, gyp, 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, victimizeRelated Words extort, wrench, wrest, wring; clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak; exploit, milk; deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick; rope (in); betray, bitch, double-cross; bamboozle, fast-talk

2 to cause to believe what is untrue tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery Synonyms bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, sucker, suck in, take in, trickRelated Words kid, put on, tease; bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, flam, fleece, gyp, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindleNear Antonyms debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask; disclose, divulge, tell, unveil; disabuse, disenchant, disillusionAntonyms undeceive