Introduction
As a verb – the word con means to trick somebody into doing or believing something. It means to cheat a person for personal benefit.
Used in a sentence –active - The street vendors con tourists by selling them stuff for double the price.
Passive: Ashley was conned by the taxi driver.
History
The Google con definition says that a con artist is a person who specialises in conning other people. Most con artists con people to earn a living. The most common activities of con artists are mentioned below
1) Cheating tourists of their money
2) Registering fake companies and promising people large returns on investments – then going underground with the cash
3) Selling duplicate items are originals
4) Making fake documents, stamps etc.
5) Using hypnosis to influence people to act in a certain way to ensure one’s personal gain.
6) Running scams of different sorts
Features
The Google con definition states that a con man is similar to a con artist. Con men or con artists are frauds who use a form of deception which is known as ‘confidence trickery’. Confidence trickery involves the process of gaining a person’s (victim’s) confidence and using this confidence as a leverage to cheat that person. Quack doctors are a good example of con men (or con artists).
The Google con definition states that con (as a verb) may also mean ‘to study with careful attention.’ Another meaning indicates to lead or to steer. This meaning is derived from the old English word conduen. There is a corresponding word in the French language too – it is conduire.
The Google con definition as a prefix – Con as a prefix is related to cum which means with and has Latin origins. Con as a prefix means ‘with’ or ‘together’. Examples include – confirm, construct, congenial, conducive.
Con changes to col if it is used as a prefix for a word which begins with l. For example: let us consider the word lateral – if con were to be used as a prefix; then the final result is ‘collateral’. The same applies to collision, collaboration etc.
The Google con definition further elaborates that con changes to cor if it is used as a prefix for words beginning with r. For example: correlation, corrosion
Also, con changes to com if it used as a prefix for words which begin with alphabets b,p and m. This is exemplified in the words combat, compel, commit, combination, compilation.
The Google con definition also says that it may be used as a prefix to add intensity to the original meaning of a particular word. For example: confirm – the prefix con reiterates the meaning of ‘firm’.
The word contra is often used simply as con. Contra has Latin origins and it means against. Example: Contraceptive – which means against conception; Contralto – against alto (a musical pitch – Amy Winehouse was well known for her strong contralto notes)
Tips and Comments
The Google con definition also defines con as the opposite of pro – as in pros and cons. Pro means the positive aspect of a certain thing, individual or situation while con refers to the negative aspect. Example: There are several pros and cons of owning a home based business.
