charlatan

noun

char·la·tan | \ ˈshär-lə-tən

Definition of charlatan

1 : quack entry 4 sense 2 charlatans harming their patients with dubious procedures

2 : one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability : fraud, faker a charlatan willing to do and say virtually anything to remain in the spotlight— Alan Brinkley

Other Words from charlatan Synonyms Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About charlatan

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Other Words from charlatan

charlatanism \ ˈshär-lə-tə-ˌni-zəm

\ noun

charlatanry \ ˈshär-lə-tən-rē

\ noun

Did you know?

In medieval times, people claiming medical skills they did not have roamed throughout Italy, selling "medicine" that was often completely without worth. Many of these pretenders reputedly came from a village called Cerreto, and as a result, cerretano (meaning "inhabitant of Cerreto") became an epithet for a quack physician. In addition, these frauds used a practiced patter to attract customers, rather like the chatter of a circus barker. The Italian word for "chatter" is ciarlare, and chattering was so associated with the cerretano that the spelling of the word shifted to ciarlatano. By the early 17th century, we had anglicized the Italian word to charlatan and adopted it as our own.

Examples of charlatan in a Sentence

the famed faith healer turned out to be a charlatan

Recent Examples on the Web The deeper problem is that these movies perpetuate dubious biographical clichés about Welles, characterizing him variously as a tyrant, a charlatan, or a drunk. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2021 Singer was a charlatan and a salesman, and according to the documentary, his greatest skill was exploiting the anxieties of wealthy parents who have come to view college admissions as a competitive sport and a marker of their own social status. — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2021 He was revered as a guru, condemned as a dangerous charlatan, adored and reviled by millions. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2021 Covering that charlatan Mark Cuban’s socialist Mavericks? — Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 Feb. 2021 What if the person claiming to be your soul mate is a charlatan? — Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2020 As a motivational speaker and a bit of a charlatan selling a pickup artist tutorial, Cruise rises to the occasion by certainly stealing scenes but sharing the load beautifully with an ensemble of gifted actors keen on exploring the human condition. — Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, 3 July 2020 It has been fed generously by demagogues, charlatans, and even great innovators throughout American history. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, 3 June 2020 For centuries, worthless and sometimes harmful treatments, ranging from arsenic to swamp root, have been promoted by everyone from charlatans to well-meaning clinicians. — G. Caleb Alexander, STAT, 10 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'charlatan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.