cozen
verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
Cozen is believed to come from the Italian word for a horse trader, cozzone. Horse-trading, as in the actual swapping of horses, usually involved bargaining and compromise—and, in fact, the term horse-trading has come to suggest any shrewd negotiation. It seems safe to assume that not all of these negotiations were entirely on the up-and-up. Given its association with horse traders, it's not too surprising that cozen suggests deception and fraud.
Synonyms
- bamboozle
- beguile
- bluff
- buffalo
- burn
- catch
- con
- deceive
- delude
- dupe
- fake out
- fool
- gaff
- gammon
- gull
- have
- have on [chiefly British]
- hoax
- hoodwink
- hornswoggle
- humbug
- juggle
- misguide
- misinform
- mislead
- snooker
- snow
- spoof
- string along
- suck in
- sucker
- take in
- trick
Example Sentences
Dan Neil, WSJ, 19 Dec. 2017 Word History
perhaps from obsolete Italian cozzonare, from Italian cozzone horse trader, from Latin cocion-, cocio trader
1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1
cozen
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- deceive
- fool
- trick
- delude
- beguile
- hoodwink
- mislead
- dupe
- kid
- misinform
- bamboozle
- tease
- hornswoggle
- con
- gull
- gammon
- cheat
- humbug
- bluff
- sting
- sucker
- snooker
- hoax
- misguide
- gaff
- juggle
- buffalo
- catch
- spoof
- have
- have on
- suck in
- snow
- fake out
- take in
- mulct
- string along
- do a number on
- burn
- lead one down the garden path
- lead one up the garden path
- defraud
- pull one's leg
- diddle
- swindle
- flimflam
- pull the wool over one's eyes
- put on
- euchre
- shortchange
- rook
- stick
- fleece
- chisel
- bleed
- hustle
- skin
- squeeze
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- undeceive
- reveal
- expose
- uncover
- disclose
- unmask
- divulge
- tell
- debunk
- show up
- unveil
- disabuse
- uncloak
- disillusion
- disenchant
Synonyms & Similar Words
- cheat
- pluck
- sting
- squeeze
- mulct
- do
- hustle
- screw
- defraud
- deceive
- stick
- diddle
- bilk
- swindle
- beat
- nobble
- victimize
- chouse
- trick
- con
- euchre
- shortchange
- rook
- flimflam
- ream
- fleece
- short
- bleed
- fiddle
- chisel
- shake down
- fool
- sucker
- exploit
- gaff
- stiff
- betray
- skin
- hose
- rip off
- skunk
- do in
- extort
- thimblerig
- take for a ride
- take to the cleaners
- wrench
- sell a bill of goods to
- gouge
- nick
- dupe
- overcharge
- wring
- wrest
- clip
- gull
- milk
- bitch
- bamboozle
- soak
- double-cross
- fast-talk
- rope (in)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of cozen are cheat, defraud, and swindle. While all these words mean "to get something by dishonesty or deception," cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.
The words cheat and cozen can be used in similar contexts, but cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.
In some situations, the words defraud and cozen are roughly equivalent. However, defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.
While in some cases nearly identical to cozen, swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.