con

present singular third person cons · participle present conning · participle past conned · past conned · alternative conne

1. rareTo study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart.

   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.

   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

   5 more examples

   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.

   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

   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

   1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence

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

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

   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.

   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

   One day, however, when he had been conning one of his music-scores, and by force of imagination was hearing the tune in his head, he lapsed into listlessness, and the music-sheet rolled to the hearth.

   1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XVIII, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles

2. obsoleterareTo know; understand; acknowledge.

   Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill

   1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC

plural cons

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

   pros and cons

   Synonyms: disadvantage

plural cons

1. slangA convicted criminal, a convict.

plural cons

1. informalA fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

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

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

   1 more example

   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.

   2021 February 23, Rafael Behr, “Brexit is a machine to generate perpetual grievance. It's doing its job perfectly”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2021

   Synonyms: scam, deception, imposition, hype, deceit, dupery, fiddle, fetch

present singular third person cons · participle present conning · participle past conned · past conned

1. informaltransitiveTo trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.

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

   2017 July 17, Martin Lukacs, “Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2022

   1 more example

   Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, causing amputation […] A man in Taiwan shocked the internet after attempting to defraud five insurance companies by immersing his feet in a bucket of dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in the amputation of both feet.

   2025 June 25, Yating Yang, “Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, causing amputation”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2026

   Synonyms: be sold a pup, abuse, beglammer, counterfeit, deceive, catch, trap into, dissemble

present singular third person cons · participle present conning · participle past conned · past conned

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

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

plural cons

1. informalAn organized gathering, such as a convention, conference, or congress.

   1 more example

   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.

   1995 September 4, Lindsay Crawford, “Re: Intersection”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <9509042250393785@emerald.com>

plural cons

1. informalThe conversion of part of a building.

   We're getting a loft con done next year.

1. informalobsoleteuncountableConsumption; pulmonary tuberculosis.

plural cons · alternative conn

1. dialectalobsoleteSquirrel, particularly the red squirrel.
2. Northern EnglandobsoleteA squirrel's nest.

plural cons

1. abbreviationA political conservative.

   own the cons

1. abbreviationno pluralbusinessAbbreviation of consolidation: only used in naming.

1. abbreviationnot comparablebusinessAbbreviation of consolidated: only used in naming.

   Synonyms: consol

plural cons

1. abbreviationclippinguncountableusuallyroleplaying gamesClipping of constitution.

   i might be dreaming this, but i think your carrying capacity is also affected by constitution. i seem to remember my con getting upped and i went from burdened to normal.

   2000 February 13, Mike, “Ring of gain constitution?”, in rec.games.roguelike.nethack (Usenet)

   3 more examples

   This way, hardy characters with high Constitutions can withstand more damage than the sniveling characters with below average Con. After all, fighter-types almost always have high Cons anyway, while other classes usually don't (unless the DM isn't looking when the character is rolled up :-).

   1992 February 7, Morpheus Nosferatu, “AD&D: hit points (was: wo”, in rec.games.frp (Usenet)

   I would not spend the increase on Kagain. Changes are that your char can use it better. The rege[ne]ration still remains too low to be of any use during fights, but a high con might boost your char hitpoints. (Con counts up[]to 16 for all classes, except fighters they will benefit from higher).

   2001 July 16, Gert-Jan Spoel, “Constitution and regenerating hit points”, in alt.games.baldurs-gate (Usenet)

   Cleric-types get 1d8 per level, and are limited to a maximum of 2 bonus hit points per level (i.e. if they have a Con of 18, they get 2 bonus hps per level, not 4.) So, a cleric will get 1-8 hps per level with average constitution, and 3-10 with high con (16 or higher, any more has no further effect.)

   2002 April 26, Jonathan Ellis, “Dual, Multi or Single Class”, in alt.games.baldurs-gate (Usenet)

1. A male given name, a diminutive form of Conor, Conrad or Cornelius.
2. A female given name, a diminutive form of Connie.
3. UKabbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Conservative.

plural CONs

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Certificate of Need.
2. abbreviationinitialismroleplaying gamesInitialism of constitution point.

1. UKabbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Conservative Party.