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charlatan

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The definition of a charlatan is a fraud or a person who pretends to have some skill or be something he isn't.

(noun)

An example of a charlatan is someone who pretends to be able to tell the future.

See charlatan in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a person who pretends to have expert knowledge or skill that he or she does not have; fake; mountebank

Origin: Fr < It ciarlatano, a quack < cerretano, one who cries out in the market place < VL cerretanus, seller of papal indulgences at Cerreto, town in Italy: infl. by It ciarlare, to prate

Related Forms:

charlatanism noun or charlatanry

See charlatan in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.

Origin:

Origin: French

Origin: , from Italian ciarlatano

Origin: , probably alteration (influenced by ciarlare, to prattle)

Origin: of cerretano

Origin: , inhabitant of Cerreto, a city of Italy once famous for its quacks

Related Forms:

charˌla·tanˈic (-tănˈĭk), charˌla·tanˈi·cal adjective

charˈla·tan·ism, charˈla·tan·ry noun

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