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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Recent Examples of charlatan
No, the danger is what those charlatans exploit, namely our vulnerability to the narrative of natural healing, the irresistible allure of conquering cancer with a simple, intuitive approach that lies entirely within our power, no chemo or surgery required.
—
Alan Levinovitz, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
There was too much history for anyone to dismantle, let alone a charlatan like Hitler.
—Luke Berryman, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025
There are many ethical and honest and capable mediums out there, but there are also a lot of charlatans, and this is their hook.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Worst of all, charlatans and ideologues are being placed in positions of power.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Alan Levinovitz, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
There was too much history for anyone to dismantle, let alone a charlatan like Hitler.
—Luke Berryman, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025
There are many ethical and honest and capable mediums out there, but there are also a lot of charlatans, and this is their hook.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Worst of all, charlatans and ideologues are being placed in positions of power.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan
Noun
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Instead of addressing waste and fraud and providing adults with a path to productive and independent lives through meaningful work, the Pritzker administration attacks these reform efforts.—
Regan Deering,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
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On Monday, the president pardoned Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff, who was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud and bribery.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has been exposed as nothing more than a sham.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
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Despite a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russia beginning May 8, Ukraine has rejected it as a sham.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Noun
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Maybe the cows were fakes, or sold, moved somewhere or their tags were changed.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
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Unfortunately, we were deprived of all those fake idols getting played because players kept leaving the game with fakes in their pockets, socks, and bags.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
15 May 2025
Noun
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That’s where discipline separates professionals from pretenders.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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Sorting the contenders from pretenders Here’s a quick rundown of where every team stands after the Jets eked out a Game 5 win over the upstart Blues last night in whiteout Winnipeg.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Noun
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The Spare Room by Helen Garner This is a book about a woman, Helen, who decides to let her old friend, Nicola, who is dying of cancer, come and stay with her in Melbourne while Nicola sees a local quack doctor.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
21 May 2025
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And this is why hydropathy was not like many of the other quack medical therapies of the not-quite-modern era.—
John Jeremiah Sullivan,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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With tariffs on pharmaceuticals, the mountebank of Mar-A-Lago wants to punish a small democracy of 5.3 million people that for the past 60 years has worked its way into the top table of drug research and production: Ireland.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
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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
Noun
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Fortunately, plant enthusiasts quickly chimed in to identify the impostor.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
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Adelaide Tovar, a University of Michigan scientist who researches genes related to diabetes, used to feel like an impostor in a laboratory.—
Brett Kelman,
Miami Herald,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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