as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
claimed that many doctors were frauds and mountebanks
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Recent Examples of mountebank
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
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
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
The alternative circumstance, that crackpots and mountebanks might claim such evidence exists, then fail to produce any, is, on the other hand, entirely plausible and familiar.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 31 July 2023
Another was Charles Colchester, a mountebank who also conjured Willie to the satisfaction of the first lady.
—John J. Miller, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2022
Berk was no mountebank or philistine.
—Mimi Kramer, Vulture, 10 May 2022
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
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
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
The alternative circumstance, that crackpots and mountebanks might claim such evidence exists, then fail to produce any, is, on the other hand, entirely plausible and familiar.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 31 July 2023
Another was Charles Colchester, a mountebank who also conjured Willie to the satisfaction of the first lady.
—John J. Miller, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2022
Berk was no mountebank or philistine.
—Mimi Kramer, Vulture, 10 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mountebank
Noun
-
And the next pretext might not be crime; it might be supposed voter fraud, a phenomenon that is statistically almost non-existent.—
Elizabeth Goitein,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
-
But Giuliani accused the company again of contributing to voter fraud not long after on his radio show.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The contenders, pretenders and everybody in between.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
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Adjustments will be made, and by November and December, there will be a much clearer picture of who the contenders and pretenders are.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
An entry-level sheet set from the brand will run you a minimum of $500 with the priciest shams ringing in at a cool $5,000.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
26 Sep. 2025
-
In another study, people with migraines who used a handheld VNS device (gammaCore) on the side of their neck were significantly more likely to be pain-free within 30 minutes to an hour of VNS, compared to those receiving a sham (placebo) treatment.—
Clarissa Brincat,
Popular Science,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
His first throw was tantamount to a layup, a play-action fake to the right that sprung fullback Kyle Juszczyk wide open to the left.—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Trump has since suggested the recording is a fake.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Famously, the Wizard is a charlatan in every version of the text.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
30 Aug. 2025
-
No matter the party affiliation, there’ll be charlatans claiming to care, while smooth-talking their way into the homes of hard-working people who struggle.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
Islamic eschatology warned of a deceiver who distorts perception, blurring reality.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As experts departed, quacks arrived.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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That’s until their cover in California Schemin’ as rapping imposters was blown and the emotional strain of denying their Scottishness and their fractured friendship revealed itself.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mountebank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mountebank. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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