as in lawyer
chiefly US, informal
a person who is dishonest especially in politics or in the practice of law
—often used before another noun
a shyster lawyer
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Recent Examples of shyster
To demonstrate that point in a video, a researcher told a robot arm to put a bunch of plastic grapes into a clear Tupperware container, then proceeded to shift three containers around on the table in an approximation of a shyster’s shell game.
—
Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2025
Holmes is another shyster whose story has been dissected in several documentaries and in dramatizations like Hulu’s The Dropout, but Gibney brings specific insights and a fresh perspective to this truly unbelievable story.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 July 2024
And there’s a character on there who is—plays kind of a shyster attorney.
—Nick Sibilla, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022
How Bob Odenkirk became the great American shyster in the riveting show, Better Call Saul.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 1 May 2022
Marty the nebbish, Ike the shyster, Phyllis the shrew.
—Judy Berman, Time, 8 Nov. 2021
In the 1930s, it was purchased by Norman Baker, a shyster who lured cancer patients to come here for treatments that had no medicinal value.
—Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2020
Small business owners trying to stay afloat as the economy reels from the impact of the coronavirus can add another worry to the list: shysters pretending to be affiliated with the federal government's flagship relief program.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2020
Lukens, almost alone, kept the faith, arguing that the bust had simply exposed honest dealers from shysters.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2025
Holmes is another shyster whose story has been dissected in several documentaries and in dramatizations like Hulu’s The Dropout, but Gibney brings specific insights and a fresh perspective to this truly unbelievable story.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 July 2024
And there’s a character on there who is—plays kind of a shyster attorney.
—Nick Sibilla, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022
How Bob Odenkirk became the great American shyster in the riveting show, Better Call Saul.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 1 May 2022
Marty the nebbish, Ike the shyster, Phyllis the shrew.
—Judy Berman, Time, 8 Nov. 2021
In the 1930s, it was purchased by Norman Baker, a shyster who lured cancer patients to come here for treatments that had no medicinal value.
—Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2020
Small business owners trying to stay afloat as the economy reels from the impact of the coronavirus can add another worry to the list: shysters pretending to be affiliated with the federal government's flagship relief program.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2020
Lukens, almost alone, kept the faith, arguing that the bust had simply exposed honest dealers from shysters.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shyster
Noun
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Hope all lawyers at Paul Weiss of conviction join them.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
-
One provided a transcript from such a chat group that showed a lawyer advising students not to leave the country or use domestic air travel, and wait for official announcements from the school.—
Laurie Chen,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
Noun
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The review aims to ensure that U.S. attorneys in 94 offices nationwide share equal responsibility with headquarters officials in choosing whether to pursue public corruption cases, according to a department official speaking on background.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
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Since that can have important income tax implications, and because the potential impact of different valuations on beneficiaries, many CPAs or other tax preparers (e.g., the attorney handling the estate) opt to get real numbers.—
Martin Shenkman,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shyster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shyster. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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