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
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
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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Cerner is not aware of identity theft or fraud related to Atrium Health patient data.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
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The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office on Thursday charged Brian Ramos, 25, of Edina, the owner of a roofing subcontractor known as Liminis Remodeling and Exteriors with two felony counts of worker’s compensation insurance premium fraud.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Contested election Earlier this year, Myanmar completed its third and final round of voting in a general election, a process which has been widely called a sham by international observers.—
Lorcan Lovett,
NPR,
3 May 2026
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Use the matching shams with the same color as the quilt facing out for a cohesive design, or mix and match the shams and quilt for a layered look with dimension.—
Caley Sturgill,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Once word got out about the reports in Ohio, so did the obvious fakes.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
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McKenna is extremely shifty with the puck, blending shoulder fakes into his playmaking.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
4 May 2026
Noun
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This is where hype turns into hard numbers, and contenders start getting separated from pretenders.—
Geoff Clark OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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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
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But let’s circle back to TV‘s patron saint of affable, oft–insidious quacks.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
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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.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
20 Jan. 2026
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Islamic eschatology warned of a deceiver who distorts perception, blurring reality.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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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
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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.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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 10 May. 2026.
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