English
con
see also: Con, CON
Pronunciation Verb

con (cons, present participle conning; 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, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act IV, sc. 3:
      For Cassius is aweary of the world;
      Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother;
      Checked like a bondman; all his faults observed,
      Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote,
      To cast into my teeth.
    • 1807, William Wordsworth, Poems, "Resolution and Independence" (composed 1802):
      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.
    • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 21:
      During these delectable entertainments, Miss Wirt and the chaperon sate by, and conned over the peerage, and talked about the nobility.
    • 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, archaic) To know, understand, acknowledge.
    • 1579, Edmund Spenser, Shepheardes Calender, Iune:
      Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill
Related terms Noun

con (plural cons)

  1. A disadvantage of something, especially when contrasted with its advantages (pros).
    pros and cons
  2. (abbreviation) conservative
    own the cons
Synonyms Antonyms Related terms Translations Noun

con (plural cons)

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

con (plural cons)

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

con (cons, present participle conning; past and past participle conned)

  1. (transitive, slang) To trick or defraud, usually for personal gain.
Synonyms
  • (to be conned) be sold a pup (idiomatic, British, Australian)
Translations Related terms Verb

con (cons, present participle conning; past and past participle conned)

  1. Alternative form of conn#English|conn (“direct a ship”)
Noun

con (uncountable)

  1. Alternative form of conn#English|conn (“navigational direction of a ship”)
Noun

con (plural cons)

  1. (informal) An organized gathering such as a convention, conference or congress.
    • 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.
Con
Proper noun
  1. A male given name, a diminutive form of Conor or Cornelius.
  2. Short for Connie#English|Connie. (female given name)
  3. (UK politics) Abbreviation of Conservative#English|Conservative.
CON
Noun

con (plural cons)

  1. Initialism of Certificate of Need


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