CHARLATAN Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

charlatan

noun

ˈshär-lə-tən

Definition of charlatan

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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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 Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit taught us how to separate good science from the work of charlatans. — Big Think, 10 Feb. 2026 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. — 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 See All Example Sentences for charlatan

Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan

Noun

Made false claims of massive fraud of millions of undocumented people voting.

— Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026
The consignor was later identified as an accomplice in a separate auction fraud case in Hebei province.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of fraud

Noun

Thoughtful details like precision stitching and rounded corners help keep the lightweight fill evenly in place, while the matching shams feature discrete overlap closures with charming scalloped trim.

— Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 July 2026
Treat it as the foundation for a beautifully layered bed or add the matching pillow shams to streamline the look.

— Vy Yang, Architectural Digest, 17 July 2026

Definition of sham

Noun

The stage, now covered in water, is quickly cleared as Holzinger comforts Nüganen; the fake-out isn’t entirely apparent until Saioa Alvarez comes out dressed as a plumber to take a look.

— Lauren Oyler, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
In this case, as staff eventually discovered, the box had been returned – but the books themselves had been replaced with fakes.

— Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 15 July 2026

Definition of fake

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

Definition of quack

Noun

The actors are perfectly cast, starting with Marmaï’s likable Antoine, the only player here not being the deceiver.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 12 May 2026
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

Definition of deceiver

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

Definition of mountebank

Browse Nearby Words

charity

charlatan

charlatans

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Style

“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of charlatan

noun

Example Sentences

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