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 

ˈkə-zə-

noun

Did you know?

Despite its resemblance to the adjective cozy, the verb cozen has nothing to do with being comfortable. Used in contexts relating to deception or inducement by clever coaxing or trickery, the word is believed to come ultimately from the Italian word for a horse trader, cozzone. Horse-trading, as in the actual swapping of horses, often involves bargaining and compromise—and, in fact, the term horse trade has come to refer to any shrewd negotiation, whether it involves equines or no. Horse traders have historically had a reputation for being less than completely transparent in negotiations, which explains the likely connection between cozzone and cozen’s use in deceiving or winning someone to one’s cause through trickery.

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

Choose the Right Synonym for cozen

cheat, cozen, defraud, swindle mean to get something by dishonesty or deception.

cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.

cheated me out of a dollar

cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.

always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars

defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.

defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer

swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.

swindled of their savings by con artists

Examples of cozen in a Sentence

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

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

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Kids Definition

cozen

verb

coz·​en ˈkəz-ᵊn 

cozened; cozening ˈkəz-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to deceive by skillful trickery

cozener

ˈkəz-nər 

-ᵊn-ər

noun