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View synonyms for quack

quack

1

[ kwak ]

noun

  1. the harsh, throaty cry of a duck or any similar sound.


verb (used without object)

  1. to utter the cry of a duck or a sound resembling it.

quack

2

[ kwak ]

noun

  1. a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill:

    Desperation for a cure led her to a quack who took her money.

  2. a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications they do not possess; a charlatan.

    Synonyms: phony, mountebank

adjective

  1. being a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to skills, especially medical skills:

    He's just a quack psychologist who complicates everyone's problems.

  2. presented falsely as having curative powers:

    quack medicine.

  3. of, relating to, or befitting a quack or quackery:

    Her quack methods have helped no one.

verb (used with object)

  1. to treat in the manner of a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill.
  2. to advertise or sell with fraudulent claims.

quack

1

/ kwæk /

noun

    1. an unqualified person who claims medical knowledge or other skills
    2. ( as modifier )

      a quack doctor

  1. informal.
    a doctor; physician or surgeon
“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

verb

  1. intr to act in the manner of a quack
“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

quack

2

/ kwæk /

verb

  1. (of a duck) to utter a harsh guttural sound
  2. to make a noise like a duck
“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

noun

  1. the harsh guttural sound made by a duck
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈquackish, adjective
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Other Words From

  • quack·ish adjective
  • quack·ish·ly adverb
  • quack·ish·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of quack1

First recorded in 1570–80; imitative; compare Dutch kwakken, German quacken

Origin of quack2

First recorded in 1630–40; short for quacksalver
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Word History and Origins

Origin of quack1

C17: short for quacksalver

Origin of quack2

C17: of imitative origin; related to Dutch kwakken, German quacken
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Example Sentences

Finally, consider what Smart News dubbed Trump’s "Cabinet of quacks and hacks."

From Salon

Where Wayne’s Batman is lithe and graceful, The Penguin is awkward and rotund; while Wayne is charismatic, the Penguin is a weirdo, a quack.

From Salon

“These quacks would tell them, ‘The reason your life is in disarray is you suffered a trauma that you’ve repressed, and we need to get to the root of it,’” Ofshe said.

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck,” she wrote.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent on Friday, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”

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