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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The panel also agreed Way acted with malice, oppression or fraud, and awarded her another $250,000 in punitive damages.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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Robinson faces five felonies: concealment of a death, identity theft, two counts of financial card theft, financial card fraud and car theft.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Every decision carries weight, and in a league where the line between contender and pretender is razor-thin, there’s little room for error.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2025
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The only saving grace for City is that there is no clear pretender to take its place as the top dog in English soccer.—
Joe Prince-Wright, NBC Sports,
NBC News,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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There are plenty of superhero properties out there that fall into the trap of having their antagonists do something heinous to prove that their otherwise just reasons are a sham, but surely in this case, if Maximus (Iwan Rheon) hadn’t staged a coup, another of the Inhuman subjects would’ve. 23.—
Nola Pfau,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
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The sunny set includes a quilt in twin/twin XL, full/queen, and king sizes and matching shams to create a cohesive look in your space.—
Megan Schaltegger,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
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White has a knack to get to the foul line with creative fakes.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
15 Apr. 2025
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Historically, trade restrictions drive up the cost of authentic goods, creating the perfect conditions for counterfeiters to flood the market with cheaper, harder-to-detect fakes, according to Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy, an authentication service.—
Jessica Dickler,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Death at the hands of charlatans is not an inspiring storyline, which means publishers and film studios studiously avoid it.—
Alan Levinovitz,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
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No, the danger is what those charlatans exploit, namely our vulnerability to the narrative of natural healing, the irresistible allure of conquering cancer with a simple, intuitive approach that lies entirely within our power, no chemo or surgery required.—
Alan Levinovitz,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Famous athlete revealed as Fuzzy Peas on Masked Singer while Ken Jeong shocks with Lord Farquaad look on wild Shrek Night With a final dramatic flourish of his cape and a quack, Lucky Duck departed, and it was revealed that Coral would be joining Paparazzo in the final six.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
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Milla — a young woman who feels disillusioned by doctors that treat her like a recalcitrant child, directing even conversations about her treatment to her father instead of her — finds false security in quacks selling enemas and juice cleanses.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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These kinds of supportive environments can reduce impostor feelings and create space for growth.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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Once hired, the impostor can install malware to demand ransom from a company, or steal its customer data, trade secrets or funds, according to Balasubramaniyan.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mountebank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mountebank. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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