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# con

«con» in Mova's school dictionary: **a trick to cheat someone, usually to get their money: it…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a con, cons); verb (con, cons, conned, conning); prefix (con-)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) A con is a trick to cheat someone, usually to get their money: it was all a con. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#m1)

2) (informal) To con someone is to trick them into believing something false or giving you something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#m2)

3) Cons are the disadvantages of something, as in «pros and cons» (the good points and the bad points). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#m3)

4) (informal) A con is short for a convict, a person in prison. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#m4)

5) A con is also a big fan meeting, like a comic con. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and online safety lessons, pupils learn to spot cons: messages saying you won a prize, people asking for passwords or money. In English and persuasive writing, «pros and cons» means weighing up both sides before a decision. Phrases: «a con artist» (a cheat), «con someone out of money», «pros and cons», «comic con».

### examples

- That free phone offer is a con. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x1)
- A con artist tricked Grandpa out of his savings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x2)
- Don't let anyone con you into sharing your password. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x3)
- Let's list the pros and cons of a school uniform. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x4)
- One con of a dog is that you have to walk it in the rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x5)
- We dressed up as superheroes for the comic con. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x6)
- He conned his little sister into doing his chores. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/#x7)

### note

Verb forms: conned, conning. «Pros and cons»: pros = for, cons = against. «Con» is informal, used in talk and news; in formal writing use «fraud», «scam» or «trick». «Con-» at the start of many words (connect, contain) has nothing to do with cheating.

### In the corpora

- [Minimalism is art that uses very little, like simple shapes; whether a nearly empty work is deep or a con is argued.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/18-modern-art-my-little-brother-could-do-that/16/)
- [Small cons are everywhere.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/445-the-older-kids-trade/24/)
- [That is what makes it fun and not a con.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/448-the-magicians-trick-explained/5/)
- [A con artist — someone who tricks people to take their money — doesn't.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/448-the-magicians-trick-explained/27/)
- [A con is a trick that takes something from people who did not agree to be fooled.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/448-the-magicians-trick-explained/29/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «con» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/con/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.