Münchhausen

[ mynkh-hou-zuh n ]

/ ˈmünxˌhaʊ zən /

noun

Karl Friedrich Hi·e·ro·ny·mus

[kahrl free-drikh hee-ey-roh-ny-moo s] /kɑrl ˈfri drɪx ˌhi eɪˈroʊ nüˌmʊs/, Baron von

[fuh n] /fən/, 1720–97, German soldier, adventurer, and teller of tales.

English Mun·chau·sen

[muhn-chou-zuh n, muhnch-hou-, muhn-chaw-] /ˈmʌnˌtʃaʊ zən, ˈmʌntʃˌhaʊ-, mʌnˈtʃɔ-/.

Related formsMun·chau·sen·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for munchausen

People who intentionally hurt children for attention can be accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
Republican Thinks Obama’s Mental Illness Caused Border Crisis|Gideon Resnick|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I dont exactly understand how the whooping cough could save anybodys life, do you, Mr. Munchausen?
Mr. Munchausen |John Kendrick Bangs
“You might have turned her into a summer hotel,” suggested Munchausen.
The Pursuit of the House-Boat|John Kendrick Bangs
Munchausen felt that Bogey was encroaching on his preserve as a man with an imagination.
The Enchanted Typewriter|John Kendrick Bangs

From that moment Blenkinthrope was tacitly accepted as the Munchausen of the party.
Beasts and Super-Beasts|Saki
Thats true enough, put in Mr. Munchausen, resolved after Diavolos whack, to side against him.
Mr. Munchausen |John Kendrick Bangs

British Dictionary definitions for munchausen

Munchausen

/ (German ˈmynçhauzən) /

noun

an exaggerated story

a person who tells such a story

Word Origin for Munchausen

C19: after Baron Münchhausen, subject of a series of exaggerated adventure tales written in English by R. E. Raspe (1737–94)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for munchausen

Munchausen

in reference to unbelievable stories (1850) is in reference to Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720-1797), German adventurer who served in the Russian army against the Turks; wildly exaggerated exploits attributed to him are told in the 1785 English book "Baron Munchausen, Narrative of his Marvellous Travels," written by Rudolph Erich Raspe (1734-1794). As a syndrome involving feigned dramatic illness, it is attested from 1951.