mountebanks

noun

plural of mountebank
as in frauds
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise claimed that many doctors were frauds and mountebanks

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 mountebanks 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mountebanks
  1. frauds
  2. pretenders
  3. charlatans
  4. fakes
  5. shams
  6. quacks
Noun
  • Philly may be shedding its second-fiddle status, but it remains entirely repulsed by frauds and underachievers.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
  • Focus Your Defenses Where The Risk Is Highest​ Many of today's biggest frauds begin with an email, an invoice or a payment request that looks completely legitimate.
    — Mark Beare, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of frauds
Noun
  • Now, hardship seems to be an end in itself, a battle scar or badge of honor that distinguishes true backpackers from mere pretenders.
    — Tim Brinkhof, Time, 4 May 2026
  • This is where hype turns into hard numbers, and contenders start getting separated from pretenders.
    — Geoff Clark OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Definition of pretenders
Noun
  • In place of San Francisco’s decaying arts bohemia of poseurs and charlatans, they can be said to be creating an alternate bohemia.
    — Michael Bernick, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Others estimate that $500 billion in federal spending is diverted by charlatans each year.
    — Las Vegas Review-Journal, Twin Cities, 7 June 2026
Definition of charlatans
Noun
  • 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
  • Some of the manuscripts were never returned, while others were replaced with fakes.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of fakes
Noun
  • 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
  • Not washing your duvet cover (and shams, if applicable) in a dedicated load.
    — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 14 July 2026
Definition of shams
Noun
  • But let’s circle back to TV‘s patron saint of affable, oft–insidious quacks.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Automatic ducking doesn't add quacks to your soundtrack.
    — PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 15 Nov. 2025
Definition of quacks

Browse Nearby Words

mountebankery
mountebanks
mounted
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Cite this Entry

“Mountebanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mountebanks. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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