Charlatan
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈʃɑɹlətən/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Charlatan is a noun meaning A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.
Meaning
A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.
More Meanings
- (obsolete) A mountebank, someone who addresses crowds in the street; (especially), an itinerant seller of medicines or drugs.
Example Sentences
The poor foreigner, more dead than alive, answered that he was an Italian charlatan, who had practised with some reputation in Padua […].
That this disgraceful charlatan holds one of the great offices of state in this country should be a source of constant shame and embarrassment to the Prime Minister.
“If there’s something you don’t understand,” urged Dr. Breed, “ask Dr. Horvath to explain it. He’s very good at explaining.” He turned to me. “Dr. Hoenikker used to say that any scientist who couldn’t explain to an eight-year-old what he was doing was a charlatan.” “Then I’m dumber than an eight-year-old,” Miss Pefko mourned. “I don’t even know what a charlatan is.”
Word Forms
- charlatans
Synonyms for charlatan
Depending on context, synonyms include trickster, swindler, scammer, bamboozler, bouncer, bullshitter.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include mountebank, faker, fake, fraud, quack, hack.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.