con

Verb

con (third-person singular simple present cons, present participle conning, simple past and past participle conned)

1. (rare) To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart.
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 125, column 1:

     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.

   • 1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:

     At length, himself unsettling, he the pond / Stirred with his staff, and fixedly did look / Upon the muddy water, which he conned, / As if he had been reading in a book

   • 1795, Edmund Burke, Letter to a Noble Lord on the Attacks Made upon him and his Pension, in the House of Lords, by the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Lauderdale, Early in the Present Session of Parliament:

     I did not come into parliament to con my lesson. I had earned my pension before I set my foot in St. Stephen's chapel.

   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 21, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     During these delectable entertainments, Miss Wirt and the chaperon sate by, and conned over the peerage, and talked about the nobility.

   • 1876 July, Henry James, Jr., “The American”, in The Atlantic Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics, volume XXXVIII, number CCXXV, Boston, Mass.: H[enry] O[scar] Houghton and Company; New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, chapter IV, page 17, column 2:

     He read old almanacs at the book-stalls on the quays, and he began to frequent another café, where more newspapers were taken and his post-prandial demi-tasse cost him a penny extra, and where he used to con the tattered sheets for curious anecdotes, freaks of nature, and strange coincidences.

   • 1893, Stanley J. Weyman, “II. The King of Navarre”, in A Gentleman of France:

     Du Mornay exchanged a few words with me, to assure himself that I understood what I had to do, and then, with many kind expressions, which I did not fail to treasure up and con over in the times that were coming, hastened downstairs after his master.

   • 1963, D'Arcy Niland, Dadda jumped over two elephants: short stories:

     The hawk rested on a crag of the gorge and conned the terrain with a fierce and frowning eye.

2. (rare, obsolete) To know; understand; acknowledge.
   • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:

     Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. A disadvantage of something, especially when contrasted with its advantages (pros).

   pros and cons

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (slang) A convicted criminal, a convict.

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (informal) A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

   Synonyms: scam; see also Thesaurus:deception

   • 2012, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights”, in Some Nights), performed by fun.:

     My heart is breaking for my sister
     And the con that she called "love"

   • 2021 February 23, Rafael Behr, “Brexit is a machine to generate perpetual grievance. It's doing its job perfectly”, in The Guardian‎:

     Leavers will be attracted to that story because it spares them the discomfort of admitting that they voted for a con, and then made a prime minister of the con artist.

Verb

con (third-person singular simple present cons, present participle conning, simple past and past participle conned)

2. (transitive, informal) To trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.

   Synonyms: (British, Australian) be sold a pup; see also Thesaurus:deceive

   • 2017 July 17, Martin Lukacs, “Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals”, in The Guardian‎:

     Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals [title]

Related terms

Verb

con (third-person singular simple present cons, present participle conning, simple past and past participle conned)

1. Alternative form of conn (“direct a ship”)

Noun

con (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of conn (“navigational direction of a ship”)

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (informal) An organized gathering, such as a convention, conference, or congress.
   • 1995 September 4, Lindsay Crawford, “Re: Intersection”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom‎ (Usenet), message-ID <9509042250393785@emerald.com>:

     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.

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (informal) The conversion of part of a building.

   We're getting a loft con done next year.

Noun

con (uncountable)

1. (informal, obsolete) Consumption; pulmonary tuberculosis. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Alternative forms

• conn

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (dialectal or obsolete) Squirrel, particularly the red squirrel. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
2. (Northern England, obsolete) A squirrel's nest. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Noun

con (plural cons)

1. (abbreviation) A political conservative. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

   own the cons

Noun

con (plural not attested)

1. (business, marketing) Abbreviation of consolidation: only used in naming. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Adjective

con (not comparable)

1. (business, marketing) Abbreviation of consolidated: only used in naming. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• cònic

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) contact lens (Classifier: 隻／只 c; 粒 c; 副 c)

Alternative forms

• corn

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly school slang) happy corner

Verb

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly school slang) to happy corner
   • 2004, “大學迎新出軌玩Con撞下體”, in 大學線‎:

     調查顯示，有七成男生是在不情願的情況下被con的。另外，近四成受訪者表示即使「被con者」反抗，也不會停止con人。

     Survey has shown that 70% of males are happy cornered involuntarily. Also, nearly 40% of correspondents states that they would not happy cornering people, even when the one who is happy cornered is resisting.

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) concert (Classifier: 場／场 c)

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly in compounds) contest

Pronunciation

Verb

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) to consult or to question a student society candidate before the election

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) contractor

Pronunciation

Noun

con

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, only in compounds) conference

Preposition

con

1. with

Noun

con m

1. (vulgar) vulva, cunt

Derived terms