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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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
  • After seeing information about the National Day of Action online, Isabel Montano, a junior studying philosophy and economics, decided to take action at SIUE.
    — Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Together, these practices have established a model for studying sensitive online discourse at scale.
    — Justin Chen, STAT, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of studying
Verb
  • Oklahoma Voice provides original, objective reporting examining the intersection of policy, impact and power.
    — Dara Kass, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The opportunity to study both cuts side by side is invaluable for Kubrick enthusiasts — and instructive for film students interested in examining what drastically different effects the same footage can yield.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of examining
Verb
  • His political career, which included a spell as the Conservative Party’s deputy chairman, was interrupted by a period in prison in 2001 after he was found guilty of lying and cheating in a 1987 libel case against The Daily Star newspaper.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • For practical purposes, the games belong to the house and the house gets to decide what’s cheating and what isn’t.
    — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 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
  • Turton is entering a new chapter after steering All3Media for a decade as the company completed its $8 billion megamerger with Banijay this year to create the undisputed indie production and distribution champ.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
  • With Pharrell Williams steering the production ship, the Athens, Georgia native wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to create his most cohesive, genre-bending body of work to date.
    — Mikey Fresh, VIBE.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of steering
Verb
  • McKinsey was about learning and always being curious and solving problems.
    — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Reimagine teaching and learning with stronger academics, career and technical training, trades, apprenticeships and college pathways.
    — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of learning
Verb
  • The nominees represent a range of exhibitions, artists, and curatorial approaches, surveying the best in the art world during the eligibility cycle of August 1, 2025–July 31, 2026.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Pawlikowski, surveying the city, came across a graveyard that was adorned with old statues, worn by lichen and time; and that is where Erika strolls, seeking refuge, on a bright day.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of surveying
Verb
  • After hustling in the industry for the better part of a decade, her profile has completely exploded over the past few months.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026
Definition of hustling

Browse Nearby Words

conned
conning
connivance
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Cite this Entry

“Conning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conning. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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