1
as in studying
to commit to memory
usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in examining
to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition)
seemed to be conning his face for any sign of uncertainty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in cheating
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 & Similar Words
2
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue
tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in steering
to operate or control the course of
there was white-knuckle tension as the captain conned the gunboat through the mine-infested harbor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conning
Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Looking to turn the tables, 80-year-old Poppy Montgomery launches a mission to defraud the fraudsters conning the elderly online.
—Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 18 May 2026
How to get out of an awkward situation in order to avoid booking that plane ticket back to New York, where nothing much awaits her, after conning her way into a stranger’s home?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
Often these are aimed at either conning applicants into paying up-front fees or providing personal information that the scammers later use to gain access to credit in the victim’s name.
—Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
Their father, my grandfather, was a career low-life criminal and was in jail all the time for forgery and conning people.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Officials allege that Bester bribed several prison employees into helping with his escape plan, including conning his way into an isolation cell that was located near a fire escape and in an area with limited cameras, per the docuseries, NBC News and GroundUp.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
There was at least one other incident in which Bustillo is accused of conning a player out of $4,000.
—Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Looking to turn the tables, 80-year-old Poppy Montgomery launches a mission to defraud the fraudsters conning the elderly online.
—Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 18 May 2026
How to get out of an awkward situation in order to avoid booking that plane ticket back to New York, where nothing much awaits her, after conning her way into a stranger’s home?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
Often these are aimed at either conning applicants into paying up-front fees or providing personal information that the scammers later use to gain access to credit in the victim’s name.
—Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
Their father, my grandfather, was a career low-life criminal and was in jail all the time for forgery and conning people.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Officials allege that Bester bribed several prison employees into helping with his escape plan, including conning his way into an isolation cell that was located near a fire escape and in an area with limited cameras, per the docuseries, NBC News and GroundUp.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conning
Verb
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Other teams of astronomers have looked for clues about the movements of giant planets in the orbits of asteroids and other small objects, studying them like footprints to reconstruct how they might have been pushed or pulled into their current orbits by the gravity of giant planets on the move.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
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By studying past hurricanes, AI models can identify similarities with current storms and help forecasters detect important changes earlier.—
Katie Garch,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Since arriving in Atlanta, conservators at Center for Puppetry Arts have been closely examining the nearly 900-pound figure to determine what restoration work may be needed before Kermit returns to public display.—
Brian Unger,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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Investigators in Chicago are examining issues connected to that left-leaning nonprofit organization American Future Republic, which Hoffman is listed as the president over, according to Influence Watch.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Greg de la Garza, Miami The Republican Party of Florida is cheating and getting away with it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
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In the course of reality TV’s 20-some-odd years golden era, a cheating scandal is almost as certain as a public screaming match in an unsuspecting local restaurant.—
Alexandra Hildreth,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Verb
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While Matthew and Mu-won started Gojeuneok Bio together, Chang-ho has launched a cosmetics company that makes its money by tricking smaller companies into giving away the secrets behind their products.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 May 2026
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The church hosts sure love tricking us into eating raw broccoli by serving it up in this creamy pasta salad.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
24 May 2026
Verb
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Kress is steering Nvidia’s finances through one of the most consequential growth periods in corporate history.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
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Aside from Buckley stepping off the boat, there were calls for Canfield to be removed from the driver’s role, which is essentially the team’s de facto leader, steering the boat and making the final tactical decisions.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The deep-learning assistant integrates with the company’s existing size widgets and retailer data portals, and rolls out for retail deployment at the start of June.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
26 May 2026
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That mentality plays into Elliott’s desire to continue learning new things about his trade even after a career spanning six decades.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Beyond surveying medical experts for their study, Pope and Dhaliwal purchased turkesterone supplements from several different suppliers and found that their quality varied wildly.—
T.M. Brown,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
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Recruitment staff are surveying several options with a view to signing at least two, possibly three, players in the knowledge that the centre of the team has long needed a significant rebuild.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Verb
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The ball trickled behind second, and Hoerner kept going, hustling his way to second.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Over the past few years, Google has been hustling to reinvent its business for the AI age, trying to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page as chatbots from startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic become more popular.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conning. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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