as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the famed faith healer turned out to be a charlatan
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of charlatan
One exception is Cotton Marcus, the charlatan at the center of The Last Exorcism.
—
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 30 July 2024
What’s interesting about it is that in the book, the Dragon Queen is very obviously a con woman and a charlatan right away, and she was based on someone that’s real.
—Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
This is not a situation where, say, an elderly person of limited means, knowledge and capacity was duped by a charlatan and there’s a viable case for unconscionability.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024
Nadia, the Russian mail-order bride of Jez Butterworth’s 2001 film Birthday Girl, bounces unnervingly among multiple guises: seducer, charlatan, love interest.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for charlatan 
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 30 July 2024
What’s interesting about it is that in the book, the Dragon Queen is very obviously a con woman and a charlatan right away, and she was based on someone that’s real.
—Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
This is not a situation where, say, an elderly person of limited means, knowledge and capacity was duped by a charlatan and there’s a viable case for unconscionability.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024
Nadia, the Russian mail-order bride of Jez Butterworth’s 2001 film Birthday Girl, bounces unnervingly among multiple guises: seducer, charlatan, love interest.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for charlatan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan
Noun
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Trump and Vice President JD Vance have emphasized that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are largely off the table except for fraud and abuse.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
8 Feb. 2025
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The memorandum also directs the DOJ to engage in prosecutions under laws meant to prevent fraud and criminal conspiracies against the U.S. government.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacramento Bee,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The breakdown of democracy in the United States will not give rise to a classic dictatorship in which elections are a sham and the opposition is locked up, exiled, or killed.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
-
The set includes a queen comforter and two matching pillow shams to create a cohesive look in the bedroom.—
Kelsey Fredricks,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Gabriela Jaquez could be moved with a screen, freshman Kendall Dudley bit on Watkins’ fakes, and Janiah Barker wasn’t disciplined enough to keep track of Watkins’ movement.—
Sabreena Merchant,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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But her choice ultimately comes down to a question of authenticity; the rich author is a liar and a fake, while the pickle man is the salt of the earth.—
Jason Bailey,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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John Elway was considered a postseason pretender when his Denver Broncos were annihilated in three Super Bowls over a four-year stretch, then finished his career by snagging the franchise’s first two championship rings.—
Tim Graham,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
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Every decision carries weight, and in a league where the line between contender and pretender is razor-thin, there’s little room for error.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Milla — a young woman who feels disillusioned by doctors that treat her like a recalcitrant child, directing even conversations about her treatment to her father instead of her — finds false security in quacks selling enemas and juice cleanses.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Feb. 2025
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Trump’s Insane Clown Posse Cabinet is very close to being filled with a cadre of fools and quacks, goons and thugs.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
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Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Jan. 2024
Noun
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In Rankin’s short, Rankin himself plays an impostor posing as the not-so-famous Winnipeg filmmaker Matthew Rankin.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
14 Feb. 2025
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After Elon Musk purchased Twitter and swiftly removed all content moderation, a substantial exodus flowed to weak impostors like BlueSky, Threads, and Mastodon.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near charlatan
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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