cozening

verb

present participle of cozen
1
as in deceiving
to cause to believe what is untrue cozened several elderly ladies into believing that he was intending marriage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats cozened scores of people by persuading them to hand over funds that he would "invest"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cozening
  1. deceiving
  2. cheating
  3. tricking
  4. plucking
  5. fooling
  6. stinging
  7. squeezing
  8. hustling
Verb
  • But 3-0 marks can be deceiving heading into a battle of unbeatens at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Boulder County accused the fossil fuel companies of deceiving the general public about the dangers of their oil and gas operations and the associated greenhouse gas emissions through their advertising and marketing.
    — Callie Patteson, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • The company remains one of the world’s largest automakers and carries the legacy of Dieselgate, the emissions-cheating scandal that cost it billions of dollars in fines, settlements and other penalties.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • At the same time, as families pour more resources into preparing young people for the exams, frequent cheating scandals and test cancellations can make their investment moot.
    — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • RatHat relies heavily on tricking someone into installing a malicious Android app and approving powerful permissions.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Wardle found that a simple variation of ClickFix attack—a technique that has become remarkably effective in tricking people into infecting their devices—is all that’s required for an attacker to take control of a Muse account.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of tricking
Verb
  • LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of plucking
Verb
  • In the highlight, Marshall retrieves the ball and oddly fires it back to the infield, fooling no one.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Anybody hoping that a Netanyahu defeat in October and the emergence of a less controversial successor will reset the table is likely fooling themselves.
    — Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fooling
Verb
  • As of today, with that $7 million ticking fee to WBD shareholders kicking in October 1 and Ellison’s leaked threat to pull up HQ stakes outta the Golden State still stinging, the deal still sits in legal limbo.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • And in the Northwest, unseasonably warm temperatures combined with drier fall conditions may extend ant and stinging insect activity.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • Marris was aghast, squeezing the sides of her phone to capture what was on the screen.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The level of boredom Pugh brought to Kate making her older client orgasm by squeezing his nipples really sold her approach to the work.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezing
Verb
  • Besides Instagram hustling and scouring job boards, entrepreneurial editors find gigs when creators call out for help.
    — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026
Definition of hustling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cozeners
cozening
cozens
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Cite this Entry

“Cozening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cozening. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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