charlatan

noun

char·​la·​tan ˈshär-lə-tən 

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

charlatanism

ˈshär-lə-tə-ˌni-zəm 

noun

charlatanry

ˈshär-lə-tən-rē 

noun

Did you know?

In medieval Italy, people roamed throughout the land selling fake remedies and making false claims about their healing abilities. 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, like the chatter of a circus barker. The Italian word for “to 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, English speakers had anglicized the Italian word to charlatan and adopted it as their own.

Synonyms

• fake
• faker
• fakir
• fraud
• hoaxer
• humbug
• impostor
• imposter
• mountebank
• phony
• phoney
• pretender
• quack
• quacksalver
• ringer
• sham

Examples of charlatan in a Sentence

the famed faith healer turned out to be a charlatan

Recent Examples on the Web

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

The danger isn’t liars and charlatans. —Alan Levinovitz, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian ciarlatano, alteration of cerretano, literally, inhabitant of Cerreto, from Cerreto, Italy

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

charlatan

noun

char·​la·​tan ˈshär-lə-tən 

: a person who pretends to have knowledge or ability

Etymology

from Italian ciarlatano "charlatan," an altered form of cerretano (same meaning), literally, "inhabitant of Cerreto (village in Italy)"

Word Origin

In the early 16th century people claiming medical skills they did not really have wandered throughout Italy. They sold medicines of little or no value. Because many of these fakers came from a village called Cerreto, the name cerretano, meaning "inhabitant of Cerreto," became a general name for a medical faker. Such people always had a line of talk to help them sell their products. Through the influence of the Italian word ciarlare, meaning "to chatter," the word cerretano, when used to refer to these fakers, became ciarlatano. It is from this word that we get our English charlatan.

Medical Definition

charlatan

noun

char·​la·​tan ˈshär-lət-ən 

: quack