Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

con artist

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.16 in modern English

Syllables: con artist
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who uses confidence tricks to defraud or swindle people after first gaining their trust with a series of confidence games; a scam operator, confidence trickster.

Example Sentences

"That greedy con artist would swindle you at any cost."
"He's the FBI agent antagonist in Catch Me If You Can (2002) opposite a buoyantly charming young Leonardo DiCaprio as con artist Frank Abagnale, but his character is more of a determined cat to Leo's mouse than a real foil; he's simply a prim Eisenhower-era man with a job to do."
"Leavers will be attracted to that story because it spares them the discomfort of admitting that they voted for a con, and then made a prime minister of the con artist."

Etymology

A clipping of confidence artist.

Inflected Forms

con artists (plural) con-artist (alternative)

Phrases

con artistry

Frequently Paired Words

pickpocket thief

Synonyms

conman con bristler bunco artist bunco-steerer chiseler con artist confidence artist confidence trickster flimflammer grifter lugger

Questions

What does con artist mean?: A person who uses confidence tricks to defraud or swindle people after first gaining their trust with a series of confidence games; a scam operator, confidence trickster.
Where does con artist come from?: A clipping of confidence artist.

How to pronounce con artist

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “con artist”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “con artist”.
Repeat and practice — Say “con artist” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.