con¹ / kän/ inf. • v. (conned, con·ning) [tr.] persuade (someone) to do or believe something, typically by use of a deception: she was jailed for conning her aunt out of $500,000.• n. an instance of deceiving or tricking someone: when depositors, realizing that the whole thing is a con, demand repayment | [as adj.] a con artist. con² • n. a disadvantage: weigh up the pros and cons.con³ • n. inf. a convict.con⁴ • variant spelling of conn.con⁵ • v. (conned, con·ning) [tr.] archaic study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing).con⁶ • n. inf. a convention, esp. one for science-fiction enthusiasts.

CON

A prefix meaning with or together. A slang abbreviation for confidence, as in con man or con game. To con someone is to deceive or take advantage of a person throughfraudor trickery after winning the person's confidence. Con is also used as a slang abbreviation for convict, as in ex-con to mean someone previously incarcerated. An abbreviation for contra, which means against. To show the pros and cons of a particular issue means to present arguments or evidence on both sides.

con 2 direct the steering of (a ship) from a commanding position. XVII (cun, con). Reduced form of †cond, †cund (XVII), shortening of †condie, †condue (XIV) — (O)F. conduire :- L. condūcere CONDUCT. Survives mainly in conning-tower pilot house of a warship or submarine. XIX.

con 1 ‘get to know, learn’, hence ‘get by heart, commit to memory’, ‘peruse, scan’; differentiated var. of ME. cunne, OE. cunnan know (see CAN 2); not clearly evidenced (with pt. and pp. conned) before XV, earlier instances of conne, konne being normal graphic vars. of cunne.

con 4 (U.S.) short for CONFIDENCE (man, trick). XIX.