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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Recent Examples of charlatan
First up was Ben Shapiro, who described Tucker Carlson and others as grifters and charlatans, guilty of misleading their audiences with falsehoods and conspiracy theories.
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Jonathan J. Cooper,
Fortune,
19 Dec. 2025
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.
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Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
The 1886 hotel was once an experimental hospital set up by infamous charlatan Norman Baker.
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Noreen Kompanik,
Boston Herald,
26 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
Jonathan J. Cooper,
Fortune,
19 Dec. 2025
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
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
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David Vander Meer, 49, was being held at Clark County Detention Center on first-degree murder and insurance fraud charges stemming from the death of his wife, Bernadette, two decades ago.
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According to prosecutors, Eidleh deposited more than $5 million in fraud proceeds, kickbacks and bribes into accounts associated with shell companies in an effort to conceal the source of the money.
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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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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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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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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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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Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.
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Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
Noun
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To tell the truly venomous from the fakers, there are a couple details to help distinguish the two.
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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