as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
claimed that many doctors were frauds and mountebanks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mountebank
Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.
—
Henry Alford,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 Nov. 2025
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.
—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
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
The alternative circumstance, that crackpots and mountebanks might claim such evidence exists, then fail to produce any, is, on the other hand, entirely plausible and familiar.
—
Timothy Noah,
The New Republic,
31 July 2023
Henry Alford,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 Nov. 2025
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.
—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
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
The alternative circumstance, that crackpots and mountebanks might claim such evidence exists, then fail to produce any, is, on the other hand, entirely plausible and familiar.
—
Timothy Noah,
The New Republic,
31 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mountebank
Noun
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Kidan pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy related to the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats, and in 2006 he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
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Google also said the devices were used for ad fraud and other digital crimes.
Noun
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Both the duvet cover and shams have a sateen finish, and an ultra-soft, lived-in feel.
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Kristjánsson pointed out that the whole thing was kind of a sham.
Noun
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To add to the challenge, Brady also left his mark on the latest pretender to his crown.
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Dogs can tell the difference between an actual alpha and a pretender.
Noun
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Others estimate that $500 billion in federal spending is diverted by charlatans each year.
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To this day, a portion of the left-wing Democratic elite views Obama as a charlatan who hoodwinked their voters into supporting him.
Noun
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And what happens to someone who’s been outed like that, as a fake?
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The Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has warned that people can easily obtain fakes; in 2010, Puerto Rico invalidated all its existing birth certificates, citing rampant fraud and identity theft.
Noun
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The actors are perfectly cast, starting with Marmaï’s likable Antoine, the only player here not being the deceiver.
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The film tells the true and twisted tale of a deceiver of land and folk, who, defying her birth as a woman, comported herself as a man and committed many a wicked deed.
Noun
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But let’s circle back to TV‘s patron saint of affable, oft–insidious quacks.
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Automatic ducking doesn't add quacks to your soundtrack.
Noun
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This stops deepfakes and imposters.
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Savannah continues to ask the public for help locating her missing mother, while an imposter who sent fraudulent ransom demands has been arrested.
Cite this Entry
“Mountebank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mountebank. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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