grifter
A con artist; someone who pulls confidence games; a swindler, scammer, huckster,…A con artist; someone who pulls confidence games; a swindler, scammer, huckster, hustler, and/or charlatan.
» There's no bigger grifter than a monarch.
Meaning
3 senses(US, informal)A con artist; someone who pulls confidence games; a swindler, scammer, huckster, hustler, and/or charlatan.
(Internet, colloquial, especially)A manipulator or otherwise generally corrupt person who "games" a system, group of people, or other entity for selfish gains; especially of a political "sell-out" perceived as lacking integrity.
(Internet, derogatory)A YouTuber or other content creator who produces low-effort content critiquing a particular franchise or trend, particularly content perceived as ragebait or done for monetary gain.
- a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud
Examples
4 sentencesThere's no bigger grifter than a monarch.
Oli London is a completely empty, soulless grifter.
Donald Trump is a consummate grifter.
Chloe Cole is a soulless, mindless grifter who says whatever she's paid to say.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
From grift + -er; or probably an alteration of grafter (“a corrupt person, one who acceptsFrom grift + -er; or probably an alteration of grafter (“a corrupt person, one who accepts bribes”), which is essentially a doublet of the same word. Originally circus slang (carny; compare shill of similar semantics), gradually widened in sense. First attested in 1906; popularized online circa late 2010s.
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