What does cozen mean?
To cozen is to deceive or cheat someone, usually through artful persuasion, false pretenses, or ingratiating flattery rather than open force. The word carries a distinctly literary and slightly archaic flavor, appearing most often in historical fiction, classic drama, and formal commentary on fraud. A person who cozens is typically a smooth operator — a swindler, confidence trickster, or cunning manipulator — and the deception often involves winning the victim's trust before exploiting it. Common constructions include 'cozen someone out of something,' as in cozening an heir out of an inheritance. The word's sound is famously close to 'cousin,' which has led generations of readers to do a double-take upon first encountering it. Though rare in modern speech, cozen remains a vivid and precise term for charming dishonesty, useful whenever a writer wants to convey deceit that is polished and persuasive rather than crude or violent.
verbTo deceive or trick someone, especially through false pretenses or insincere flattery; to cheat or defraud.
- To deceive, trick, or defraud someone, typically by false pretenses or insincere charm.
"The swindler cozened elderly investors out of their life savings with promises of guaranteed returns."
"He cozened his business partners into signing away their shares with flattering talk and forged documents."
"In the old play, a cunning servant cozens a wealthy merchant out of his fortune."
Shakespeare used it, and so did his rogues: 'to cozen' means to cheat someone so smoothly they never suspect a thing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cozen
Cozen entered English in the late sixteenth century, borrowed most likely from French 'coquin,' meaning a beggar or rogue. Its earliest uses in English often referred specifically to cheating by falsely claiming kinship — pretending to be someone's 'cousin' to gain trust — which may have reinforced its similarity to that word despite the differing origins. It appears frequently in the works of Shakespeare and other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers as a standard term for artful deception.
Related word forms
How cozen is actually used
Formal and somewhat archaic in tone; more likely to appear in literature, historical writing, or deliberately elevated prose than in everyday conversation. Carries a connotation of sly, artful deceit rather than blunt theft.
Easily confused with cozen
Cousin is a noun meaning a relative sharing a common ancestor, while cozen is a verb meaning to deceive or cheat; they sound similar but are entirely unrelated in meaning.