charlatan

noun

ˈshär-lə-tən How to pronounce charlatan (audio)
Definition of charlatannext
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

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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 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 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
  1. fraud
  2. sham
  3. fake
  4. pretender
  5. quack
  6. deceiver
  7. mountebank
  8. faker
Noun
  • The New York City Department of Investigation is the city’s independent watchdog agency, which investigates fraud, corruption, misconduct, municipal malfeasance, city employees, contractors, and individuals who do business with the city.
    — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Created under the bipartisan Help America Vote Act to ensure fair, modern elections, the four-member commission now faces vacancies as the administration doubles down on its fraud-prevention agenda and appeals a court defeat.
    — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of fraud
Noun
  • The set comes with two pillow shams, which, in addition to the quilt, feature a coin pattern that adds texture to your bed.
    — Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
  • Shop it with the matching shams, or mix it with classic stripes for a personal touch.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 3 July 2026
Definition of sham
Noun
  • The model can spot obvious fakes, but Fleek also runs quality-check centers in Karachi and Delhi that inspect items from brands and categories its data has flagged as frequently counterfeited.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 July 2026
  • Deep fakes are the new norm, and their spread is being done automatically.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 7 July 2026
Definition of fake
Noun
  • At least one of them will in the coming weeks likely be exposed as a pretender.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2026
  • To add to the challenge, Brady also left his mark on the latest pretender to his crown.
    — Peter Carline, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of pretender
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
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
Definition of faker

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Cite this Entry

“Charlatan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charlatan. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of charlatan for Spanish Speakers

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