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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of charlatan
Trying to keep the population safe from a novel infectious disease, battling to understand the virus, but also navigating people's suspicion of vaccines and science, and their desire to use bleach and ivermectin, egged on by charlatans.
—
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things, like other great prophets in the history of Israel.
—Daniel Burke, NPR, 9 May 2025
It was bought for $40,000 in 1937 by medical charlatan Norman Baker.
—Jack Schnedler, Arkansas Online, 5 May 2025
Death at the hands of charlatans is not an inspiring storyline, which means publishers and film studios studiously avoid it.
—Alan Levinovitz, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things, like other great prophets in the history of Israel.
—Daniel Burke, NPR, 9 May 2025
It was bought for $40,000 in 1937 by medical charlatan Norman Baker.
—Jack Schnedler, Arkansas Online, 5 May 2025
Death at the hands of charlatans is not an inspiring storyline, which means publishers and film studios studiously avoid it.
—Alan Levinovitz, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan
Noun
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In a plea deal, Johnson pled guilty to one count of broker-dealer registration violation, a Class C felony, in exchange for the 14 securities fraud counts being dismissed.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
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One exception is if the government was able to prove that citizenship was obtained through fraud in the case of naturalization.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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The California high-speed rail project is a sham and should have been stopped many years ago.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
20 July 2025
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Some ought to know better: The false and horrific accusation before the highly politicized International Criminal Court is a total sham.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 July 2025
Noun
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Trump — once a party pal of Epstein’s — insists the card is a fake and is suing the Journal.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
22 July 2025
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Much of their offense revolves around getting outside and creating displacement with motions and fakes.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Noun
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In the ensuing decade, the Yankees have cycled through at least 18 pretenders to Jeter's legacy.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
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King portrays Prince John, younger brother to Richard, son of King Henry, and a dangerous pretender to the throne.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
1 July 2025
Noun
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Tell that to the kids who have been hospitalized and died from measles, following quack Dr. Bobby’s Rx to avoid the shots.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2025
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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
Noun
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Caricatured by Honoré Daumier and his lesser followers always as a mountebank, a charlatan, a circus clown, Louis Napoleon could normalize the extent of his outrages by the seeming harmlessness of his absurdities.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
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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
Noun
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Job-seeking impostors, including deepfakes, are exploiting the remote work trend, defrauding U.S. companies and potentially threatening U.S. national security, according to experts.—
Anuz Thapa,Hugh Son,
CNBC,
11 July 2025
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As in 2023, impostor scams topped the list again last year.—
James Garvert,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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