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
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Recent Examples of charlatan
The gloomiest of the adverse reactions is that charlatans will insidiously attempt to convince others that AGI is indeed supernatural.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Where to watch Saw: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
03 of 10
Saw X (2023)
John Kramer ventures to Mexico for an experimental cancer treatment administered by money-hungry charlatans in this slick but not particularly inventive revival sequel, which takes place between the events of Saw and Saw II.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Trying to keep the population safe from a novel infectious disease, battling to understand the virus, but also navigating people's suspicion of vaccines and science, and their desire to use bleach and ivermectin, egged on by charlatans.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Where to watch Saw: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
03 of 10
Saw X (2023)
John Kramer ventures to Mexico for an experimental cancer treatment administered by money-hungry charlatans in this slick but not particularly inventive revival sequel, which takes place between the events of Saw and Saw II.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Trying to keep the population safe from a novel infectious disease, battling to understand the virus, but also navigating people's suspicion of vaccines and science, and their desire to use bleach and ivermectin, egged on by charlatans.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for charlatan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charlatan
Noun
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Julie and Todd were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud in June 2022, while Julie was also found guilty of wire fraud.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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The election is complicated by the fact that Brown faces felony fraud charges.—
Josh Bergeron,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Pottery Barn offers matching shams with zipper closures, and both the quilt and shams are available on sale.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
3 Sep. 2025
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In terms of your pillowcases, skip the decorative shams and opt for a set that matches your sheets.—
Tessa Cooper,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Buffs bit on a zone-read fake on Delaware’s first drive as tailback Jo Silver opened the game by gashing CU for a 10-yard gain.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
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True stories are one way to differentiate the authentic from the fake.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But the Bolts don't have enough pieces to go from pretenders to contenders.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
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The signing of Isak, however, might have turned Arsenal from title pretenders to genuine contenders.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
Noun
-
Islamic eschatology warned of a deceiver who distorts perception, blurring reality.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Medallion’s Derek Lo figures that his software can cut through the system’s redundancies, slashing the time and cost of paperwork designed to prevent quacks from practicing medicine and safeguard patients that’s spiraled into something burdensome.—
Amy Feldman,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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Tell that to the kids who have been hospitalized and died from measles, following quack Dr. Bobby’s Rx to avoid the shots.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Caricatured by Honoré Daumier and his lesser followers always as a mountebank, a charlatan, a circus clown, Louis Napoleon could normalize the extent of his outrages by the seeming harmlessness of his absurdities.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
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With tariffs on pharmaceuticals, the mountebank of Mar-A-Lago wants to punish a small democracy of 5.3 million people that for the past 60 years has worked its way into the top table of drug research and production: Ireland.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The thing was, the rapper was not there, instead sending an imposter the way that the late MF Doom used to do.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
28 Aug. 2025
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The total number of business imposter and government imposter reports filed by older adults with a loss of $10,000 or more reached 8,269 reports in 2024, up from 1,790 in 2020, according to the FTC.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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