conning 1 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of con
1
as in studying
to commit to memory usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in examining
to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition) seemed to be conning his face for any sign of uncertainty

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

conning

2 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of con
1
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats a fly-by-night operator who had conned hundreds of would-be homeowners out of their hard-earned money

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

conning

3 of 3

verb (3)

present participle of conn
as in steering
to operate or control the course of there was white-knuckle tension as the captain conned the gunboat through the mine-infested harbor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of conning
Verb
There was at least one other incident in which Bustillo is accused of conning a player out of $4,000. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026 Looking to turn the tables, 80-year-old Poppy Montgomery launches a mission to defraud the fraudsters conning the elderly online. — Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 18 May 2026 How to get out of an awkward situation in order to avoid booking that plane ticket back to New York, where nothing much awaits her, after conning her way into a stranger’s home? — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026 Often these are aimed at either conning applicants into paying up-front fees or providing personal information that the scammers later use to gain access to credit in the victim’s name. — Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026 Their father, my grandfather, was a career low-life criminal and was in jail all the time for forgery and conning people. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025 Officials allege that Bester bribed several prison employees into helping with his escape plan, including conning his way into an isolation cell that was located near a fire escape and in an area with limited cameras, per the docuseries, NBC News and GroundUp. — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conning
  1. studying
  2. examining
  3. cheating
  4. tricking
  5. steering
  6. learning
  7. surveying
  8. hustling
Verb
  • During the season, officials spend more than 30 hours a week studying video and the rulebook, according to the NFL.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Junior Kelsey Chandler, who is studying to become a private pilot, said the program has pushed her outside of her comfort zone.
    — Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of studying
Verb
  • The whole season is examining that question for Kate and, in a way, for all of them.
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • However, investigators were still examining the incident as of that update.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of examining
Verb
  • The attack on Hugging Face was then part of an elaborate attempt to evade being caught cheating.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Educators raise concerns about cognitive offloading and easy access to cheating.
    — Kiryn Hoffman, Forbes.com, 16 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
  • That also means steering away from even the slight, surface-level ideas that movie raised about AI.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Harrington cofounded Elemis in 1990 and led it from launch through the end of 2025, taking the business global and steering it through multiple transactions — including a $900 million sale from private equity to a strategic holding company in 2019.
    — Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of steering
Verb
  • Rilke writes about solitude, love, patience and learning to live with uncertainty.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The program provides training in barista skills, espresso brewing, earning a food handler’s license, learning point-of-sale systems, customer service skills, food prep and other more general workplace skills.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of learning
Verb
  • Emergency crews in Florida and Alabama are surveying damage wrought by Hurricane Isaias, after the storm bashed into the Gulf Coast as a Category 2 storm Friday night.
    — Bill Chappell, NPR, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The three-time NBA MVP stood behind a gaggle of teammates squished up against the CU bench, quietly surveying the madness from the 15-yard line while twisting the cap of his bottled water.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of surveying
Verb
  • That urgency has marked Holden’s prolific output—especially the thrilling first installment of his Supreme Magnetic series in 2025 and 2022’s Joe Frog—as the Harlem rapper uses his street-hustling past to paint an autobiographical portrait.
    — Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The 30-second teaser sees Jackson hustling around town, making money and recruiting his team of crooks.
    — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of hustling

Browse Nearby Words

conned
conning
connivance
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Conning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conning. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All