charlatan

American  

[shahr-luh-tn] / ˈʃɑr lə tn /

noun

• charlatans
  plural

1. a person who pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than they possess; fraud; quack.

   Synonyms:

   phony, fake, fraud, mountebank, impostor

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charlatan British  

/ ˈʃɑːlətən /

noun

1. someone who professes knowledge or expertise, esp in medicine, that he or she does not have; quack

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• charlatanism
  noun
• charlatanic
  adjective
• charlatanical
  adjective
• charlatanish
  adjective
• charlatanistic
  adjective
• charlatanically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• charlatans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of charlatan

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Middle French, from Italian ciarlatano, equivalent to ciarla(tore) “chatterer” (derivative of ciarlare “to chatter”; from imitative root) + (cerre)tano “hawker, quack,” literally, “native of Cerreto, ” a village in Umbria, known for its quacks

Explanation

A charlatan is a quack, a person who is trying to deceive you with false claims. Beware of charlatans who try to sell you access to the fountain of youth or to a Ponzi scheme disguised as an exclusive investment fund. A charlatan is one who pretends to possess knowledge he or she lacks. From the 16th century Italian ciarlatano "a quack," the usage of charlatan has not shifted much. Other words for charlatan are impostor, cheat, or pretender. Charlatans are marked by the elaborate schemes they cook up. Russian playwright Anton Chekhov said, "No psychologist should pretend to understand what he does not understand...Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand nothing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charlatan charlatans

He was, Mr. Keefe writes, “a charlatan who had just declared bankruptcy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Jerry uses his “you-betcha” Midwestern accent to disguise his discontent, but beneath his charlatan smile lurks a rotten, greedy soul.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026

And that is alarming, because Kennedy is a charlatan who opposes evidence-based medicine and promotes discredited quackery.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025

Passing sentence Judge Geoffery Baker QC described Saeed as a "charlatan", who had carried out a deception that had been "cunningly contrived, skilfully executed, and brazenly maintained over three decades".

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025

Every few centuries, some charlatan, some crawling, vicious soul, would try to get close to the Glimourie Tree—to steal it, to take it for their own.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Morrison said the government needs "a proper regulatory framework to make sure these charlatans that are putting out bogus sleep advice on social media... are held to account."

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

The magician Ricky Jay’s compendium of actual “unique, eccentric and amazing entertainers” offers a parade of con artists, charlatans, escapologists, daredevils, mesmerists, contortionists and sideshow acts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

That contemporary art might be a dubious realm populated by frauds and charlatans seems quaint today, but once upon a time it was a standard assumption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025

Over the centuries, it has endorsed only a small percentage of the thousands that have been claimed, in an effort to protect the faithful from charlatans, doctrinal errors or attempts to profit.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2024

"No, Brother, we have to make such decisions ourselves. Even if we must sometimes appear as charlatans."

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Related Words

• con artist