Definition

Noun: A person who obtains money or other benefits through dishonest schemes, deception, or fraud; a con artist.

Usage

The word "grifter" is used to describe a specific type of criminal who relies on charm, persuasion, and elaborate stories to trick people, rather than physical force. It often implies a degree of skill and cunning in the deception.

Examples

• The smooth-talking grifter convinced several elderly residents to invest in a fake real estate venture.
• In the movie, the main character is a charming grifter who travels from town to town running different scams.
• She realized too late that the friendly stranger was a grifter after he disappeared with her deposit.

Advanced Usage

• "Grift" as a related verb: The act carried out by a grifter is called a "grift." To "grift" means to engage in swindling or fraud.
  • He made his living by grifting unsuspecting tourists.
• Conceptual Use: The term can sometimes be used more broadly to describe someone who manipulates systems or people for personal gain in a deceptive way, even in non-criminal contexts like politics or business.
  • Some critics view the lobbyist as a political grifter, trading on influence rather than genuine policy work.

Variants and Related Words

• Grift (noun): The scheme or act of swindling.
  • The whole operation was an elaborate grift.
• Grift (verb): To swindle or obtain by fraud.
  • They were arrested for attempting to grift money from the charity.
• Grifting (gerund/noun): The practice or occupation of being a grifter.
  • He turned from petty theft to grifting.

Synonyms

• Swindler: A person who uses deception to deprive someone of money or property.
• Con artist / Con man / Con woman: Short for "confidence artist"; someone who gains a victim's trust to defraud them.
• Fraudster: A person who commits fraud, often in a business or financial context.
• Scammer: A more modern, informal term for someone who executes scams, often online.
• Hustler: Can mean an enterprising person, but often implies someone using deceptive or aggressive tactics to make money.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To run a grift: To operate a specific swindling scheme.
  • The pair was running a grift involving counterfeit jewelry.
• The old grift: Referring to a classic, well-known type of con.
  • He tried the old grift of pretending to be a stranded traveler.

Noun

1. a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud