as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the famed faith healer turned out to be a charlatan
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of charlatan
Macfadyen’s Guiteau is an obvious charlatan; a man so easy to peg as a bad seed that a bank manager remembers him from a single confrontation five years earlier.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
The 1886 hotel was once an experimental hospital set up by infamous charlatan Norman Baker.
—Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Malcolm McDowell is a sneering charlatan, Scout Taylor-Compton is a one-note screaming victim, and Tyler Mane offers nothing new.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Famously, the Wizard is a charlatan in every version of the text.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
The 1886 hotel was once an experimental hospital set up by infamous charlatan Norman Baker.
—Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Malcolm McDowell is a sneering charlatan, Scout Taylor-Compton is a one-note screaming victim, and Tyler Mane offers nothing new.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Famously, the Wizard is a charlatan in every version of the text.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan
Noun
-
Lindell bragged of spending millions to combat election fraud.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Banks are required by law to report suspicious activity in customer accounts to federal authorities in order to flag potential criminal activity, such as money laundering or fraud.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The gauzy texture is made from organic cotton, and the decorative pillow shams have a highly dimensional stitching.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Bedsure Best Seller GentleSoft Pintuck Pinch Pleat For a one-and-done bedding upgrade, consider this set that includes sheets, a comforter, pillowcases, and shams, all for just $45.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
McEnelly played defense the rest of the way, mixing in fakes where needed to keep Welsh at bay.—
Twin Cities,
Twin Cities,
22 Mar. 2026
-
People may just give up on trying to sort the real from the fake.—
Nick Dothée,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The alliance successfully supported Maria Cristiana, who was acting as regent for Isabella II in Spain and had allied herself with the liberals against the pretender Don Carlos in the First Carlist War (1833–39).—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
These two pretenders reflect an insider debate whose subject is not the existence of the Islamic Republic but the best method of its survival.—
Karim Sadjadpour,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But when a patient recognizes him from his dangerous past, Brown has eight hours to elude the government, mob hitmen, quack surgeons, and a trail of dead gangers to beat the reaper somehow.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
18 Dec. 2025
-
But let’s circle back to TV‘s patron saint of affable, oft–insidious quacks.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Islamic eschatology warned of a deceiver who distorts perception, blurring reality.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
To tell the truly venomous from the fakers, there are a couple details to help distinguish the two.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
