Grifter
noun
A person who cheats others for personal gain, often by swindling or trickery.
The man was revealed to be a grifter, deceiving elderly people out of their savings.
Often appears as...
- con artist grifter
- professional grifter
Usage tips
Disapproving
Colloquial
noun
A person who cheats others for personal gain, often by swindling or trickery.
The man was revealed to be a grifter, deceiving elderly people out of their savings.
Often appears as...
- con artist grifter
- professional grifter
Usage tips
Disapproving
Colloquial
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Grifter implies dishonesty and is used negatively to describe deceitful individuals.
After the investment scandal, the media dubbed him a grifter.
Pro Tip 2/3Colloquial Usage
Primarily used in informal settings and might be considered too casual for formal writing.
The local magazine published an article about the grifters in the flea market.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Portrayal
Grifters often appear in movies and books as charming tricksters, but real-life implications are serious.
The film featured a charismatic grifter pulling off elaborate heists.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Grifter implies dishonesty and is used negatively to describe deceitful individuals.
After the investment scandal, the media dubbed him a grifter.
Pro Tip 2/3Colloquial Usage
Primarily used in informal settings and might be considered too casual for formal writing.
The local magazine published an article about the grifters in the flea market.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Portrayal
Grifters often appear in movies and books as charming tricksters, but real-life implications are serious.
The film featured a charismatic grifter pulling off elaborate heists.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Grifter implies dishonesty and is used negatively to describe deceitful individuals.
After the investment scandal, the media dubbed him a grifter.
Pro Tip 2/3Colloquial Usage
Primarily used in informal settings and might be considered too casual for formal writing.
The local magazine published an article about the grifters in the flea market.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Portrayal
Grifters often appear in movies and books as charming tricksters, but real-life implications are serious.
The film featured a charismatic grifter pulling off elaborate heists.
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Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Nearly everyone who chooses to work for Donald Trump is disreputable in one way or another; Ali Baba didn't find 40 wise men in the cave. But to label everyone in Trumpworld a grifter misses important subtleties. It conflates grifters and grafters, and it ignores the crucial distinction between the two.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Donald Trump is an archetypal grifter. Using the presidency to promote your golf courses, hotels, and real estate business is grifting. So is getting people to pay a premium for buildings with your name in big, gold letters. Licensing your name is what every grifter dreams about.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Where the grifter is shameless, the grafter shrinks from exposure, which could only endanger the racket. He is greedy but not creatively ambitious. He toils in mundane self-dealing, insider trading, bribe taking, witness tampering, and other forms of workaday corruption.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
For the grifter, ripping people off is seldom the point. The grifter is an artiste who invests in the long con.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Nearly everyone who chooses to work for Donald Trump is disreputable in one way or another; Ali Baba didn't find 40 wise men in the cave. But to label everyone in Trumpworld a grifter misses important subtleties. It conflates grifters and grafters, and it ignores the crucial distinction between the two.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Donald Trump is an archetypal grifter. Using the presidency to promote your golf courses, hotels, and real estate business is grifting. So is getting people to pay a premium for buildings with your name in big, gold letters. Licensing your name is what every grifter dreams about.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
Where the grifter is shameless, the grafter shrinks from exposure, which could only endanger the racket. He is greedy but not creatively ambitious. He toils in mundane self-dealing, insider trading, bribe taking, witness tampering, and other forms of workaday corruption.
Quote examples
Jacob Weisberg
American Journalist
For the grifter, ripping people off is seldom the point. The grifter is an artiste who invests in the long con.
Example 1 of 4
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