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
The bubble-ists think that the Coreweave people are hopeless dreamers at best and shysters at worst.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025
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
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shyster
Noun
-
The main problem, lawyers previously told CBS News, is that the FACE Act fundamentally misstates the rights people have under the First Amendment.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
By 2015, Garrison and Derouselle were working together as slammers, collaborating with a lawyer named Jason Giles, who was a partner at a prominent Canal Street personal-injury outfit, the King Firm.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Lawyers are also asking Dreyfus's successor as attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, to reverse the extradition order.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
After attorney Mark Chargualaf was appointed as Pewitt’s public defender, Clymer asked whether Pewitt’s bond amount should remain.—
Amy Lavalley,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For nearly three years now, I’ve been fascinated by the performance art of this blustering pettifogger.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Shyster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shyster. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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