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 →

2) (informal) To con someone is to trick them into believing something false or giving you something. tree →

3) Cons are the disadvantages of something, as in «pros and cons» (the good points and the bad points). tree →

4) (informal) A con is short for a convict, a person in prison. tree →

5) A con is also a big fan meeting, like a comic con. tree →

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 →
• A con artist tricked Grandpa out of his savings. tree →
• Don't let anyone con you into sharing your password. tree →
• Let's list the pros and cons of a school uniform. tree →
• One con of a dog is that you have to walk it in the rain. tree →
• We dressed up as superheroes for the comic con. tree →
• He conned his little sister into doing his chores. tree →

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.
• Small cons are everywhere.
• That is what makes it fun and not a con.
• A con artist — someone who tricks people to take their money — doesn't.
• A con is a trick that takes something from people who did not agree to be fooled.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «con» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.