cozen
verb
coz·en ˈkə-zən 
cozened; cozening ˈkəz-niŋ
ˈkə-zə-
transitive verb
1
: to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery
2
: to gain by cozening someone
cozened his supper out of the old couple
cozener
ˈkəz-nər
noun ˈkə-zə-
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
cozened several elderly ladies into believing that he was intending marriage cozened scores of people by persuading them to hand over funds that he would “invest”
Recent Examples on the Web The point, however, is not to entertain the driver/employee but to cozen the owner. 
Dan Neil, WSJ, 19 Dec. 2017
Dan Neil, WSJ, 19 Dec. 2017 Word History
Etymology
perhaps from obsolete Italian cozzonare, from Italian cozzone horse trader, from Latin cocion-, cocio trader
First Known Use
1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1
cozening
verb
1
as in deceiving
to cause to believe what is untrue cozened several elderly ladies into believing that he was intending marriage Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- deceiving
- tricking
- fooling
- gulling
- humbugging
- conning
- deluding
- hoodwinking
- hoaxing
- duping
- bamboozling
- teasing
- beguiling
- misleading
- suckering
- misguiding
- bluffing
- cheating
- misinforming
- stinging
- kidding
- snookering
- gaffing
- juggling
- catching
- burning
- stringing along
- sucking in
- spoofing
- having
- gammoning
- taking in
- mulcting
- having on
- snowing
- buffaloing
- faking out
- doing a number on
- leading one up the garden path
- hornswoggling
- leading one down the garden path
- pulling one's leg
- swindling
- defrauding
- fleecing
- diddling
- pulling the wool over one's eyes
- rooking
- sticking
- shortchanging
- putting on
- hustling
- bleeding
- chiseling
- flimflamming
- squeezing
- skinning
- chiselling
- euchring
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- undeceiving
- exposing
- revealing
- unmasking
- uncovering
- debunking
- disclosing
- divulging
- telling
- showing up
- uncloaking
- unveiling
- disillusioning
- disabusing
- disenchanting
2
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats cozened scores of people by persuading them to hand over funds that he would "invest" Synonyms & Similar Words
- cheating
- stinging
- plucking
- squeezing
- hustling
- doing
- screwing
- mulcting
- deceiving
- sticking
- conning
- swindling
- tricking
- beating
- defrauding
- victimizing
- fleecing
- bilking
- exploiting
- suckering
- diddling
- rooking
- nobbling
- bleeding
- fooling
- shorting
- fiddling
- stiffing
- betraying
- shortchanging
- gaffing
- reaming
- shaking down
- chiseling
- extorting
- flimflamming
- skinning
- ripping off
- thimblerigging
- hosing
- chiselling
- doing in
- gulling
- gouging
- wrenching
- taking to the cleaners
- duping
- euchring
- selling a bill of goods to
- taking for a ride
- nicking
- milking
- overcharging
- chousing
- clipping
- skunking
- wringing
- wresting
- bamboozling
- soaking
- double-crossing
- bitching
- fast-talking
- roping (in)