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
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 Republican, who is angling for the GOP nomination for president, staged a roundtable of scientific mountebanks on Wednesday to attack the vaccines.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
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
Berk was no mountebank or philistine.
—Mimi Kramer, Vulture, 10 May 2022
Another was Charles Colchester, a mountebank who also conjured Willie to the satisfaction of the first lady.
—John J. Miller, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2022
Or does the word seem a little shifty, denoting a modern-day mountebank (another great word), bent on self-promotion, unscrupulous precisely because no special degree is required?
—Will Jeakle, Forbes, 29 June 2021
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 Republican, who is angling for the GOP nomination for president, staged a roundtable of scientific mountebanks on Wednesday to attack the vaccines.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
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
Berk was no mountebank or philistine.
—Mimi Kramer, Vulture, 10 May 2022
Another was Charles Colchester, a mountebank who also conjured Willie to the satisfaction of the first lady.
—John J. Miller, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2022
Or does the word seem a little shifty, denoting a modern-day mountebank (another great word), bent on self-promotion, unscrupulous precisely because no special degree is required?
—Will Jeakle, Forbes, 29 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mountebank
Noun
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What did Todd and Julie Chrisley go to prison for? After nearly a decade on air, the pair faced legal trouble for a number of bank and tax fraud offenses.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
28 May 2025
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On Monday, the president pardoned Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff, who was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud and bribery.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
Noun
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But for those trying to fill out their brackets this week, here are the Big Ten’s contenders and pretenders heading into March Madness.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2025
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That’s where discipline separates professionals from pretenders.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Noun
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Pottery Barn Outlet Bedding Deals There are plenty of deals on comfortable quilts, cozy comforters, and shams in the Pottery Barn bedding sale section.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 May 2025
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Quince often has Bundle & Save offers for up to 25% off select clothing and bedding sets with hotel-quality sheets, duvets, and shams.—
Alanna Martine Kilkeary,
Glamour,
20 May 2025
Noun
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People will either fall for fakes—or doubt the truth.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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When the computer was seized, in November, creating digital fakes was not yet considered a crime.—
Tiffany Hsu,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Trying to keep the population safe from a novel infectious disease, battling to understand the virus, but also navigating people's suspicion of vaccines and science, and their desire to use bleach and ivermectin, egged on by charlatans.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Apr. 2025
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For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things, like other great prophets in the history of Israel.—
Daniel Burke,
NPR,
9 May 2025
Noun
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The Spare Room by Helen Garner This is a book about a woman, Helen, who decides to let her old friend, Nicola, who is dying of cancer, come and stay with her in Melbourne while Nicola sees a local quack doctor.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
21 May 2025
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And this is why hydropathy was not like many of the other quack medical therapies of the not-quite-modern era.—
John Jeremiah Sullivan,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And the ones who haven’t probably are impostors. Deepen your worldview with Monitor Highlights.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
21 May 2025
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However, sometimes there’s an impostor among us, and one celebrity who always falls victim to AI deepfakes is Katy Perry.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mountebank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mountebank. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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