I can't believe the most common definition has been left out.
A grifter is someone who swindles you through deception or fraud.
Synonyms include fraudster, con artist, cheater, confidence man, scammer, hustler, swindler, etc.
1) That grifter swindled me out of £250,000!
2) "The first rule of grifting is, you can't cheat an honest man."
-Quote from the BBC show "Hustle."
by Raging Dragon February 14, 2006
1)A confidence man/woman. The term was used by professional con artists in the 19th and 20th centuries to describe people in their profession. The Grifters, a 1963 noir fiction novel by Jim Thompson, portrayed a family of grifters who are all emotionally managed. . The characters describe being "on the grift" the way someone else might describe drinking and drugs. "I can stop any time I want," says Roy to his mother. .
2) (modern) A sell out in the political opinion world. This noun is increasingly used by progressives (and some conservatives) to describe people such as Candace Owens and other opinion makers whose conservatism is seen as facile and inorganic, born mostly out of of a need for corporate funding than actual convictions.
1.) “As for working with a partner, he didn’t like that either. It cut the score right down the middle. It put an apple on your head, and handed the other guy a shotgun. Because grifters, it seemed, suffered an irresistible urge to beat their colleagues. There was little glory in whipping a fool—hell, fools were made to be whipped. But to take a professional, even if it cost you in the long run, ah, that was something to polish your pride.”
― Jim Thompson, The Grifters, 1963
2) "He used to be an original voice, but after meeting the Koch Brothers, the radio host underwent a personality change. Instead of nuanced analysis, he repeated well-worn right-wing talking points, causing his colleagues to suspect he had been corrupted into being a grifter.
by MTyeW23 September 10, 2021
A con artist that moves form one place to another with no real home. Similar to a drifter only they participate in fraud.
The family was shocked to find out that there relative was a grifter. Who took fifty dollars. and left the net morning.
by quintin hegland December 30, 2007
by RacistsRnotChristians November 22, 2016
by Michael894 August 22, 2016
1 (classical definition): noun, someone who gets money dishonestly by tricking people
2 (modern internet definition): noun, someone you don't like but somehow has money despite that fact
Pictured below: a mother talking to someone who does not like her daughter
A sure sign that someone is a grifter is if they have a patreon despite the fact that they have opinions you disagree with.
by GamersHolyArmy June 24, 2021
The most disturbing video on the internet, it is advised you do not eat at least 4 hours before hand unless you want your last meal on your keyboard. It has been known to cause heart palpitations and even minor infarctions in senior citizens when they are shock site'd with it and has claimed at least one life for sure.
David thought he was hardcore, he lol'd at 1guy1jar and 3guys1hammer but grifter left him unable to form a coherent sentence for nearly 4 hours.
by Tenestra April 26, 2010