quack 
quack (kwak)
intransitive verb
to utter the characteristic sound or cry of a duck, or a sound like it
Etymology: echoic
noun
the sound made by a duck, or any sound like it
quack (kwak)
noun
- an untrained person who practices medicine fraudulently
- any person who pretends to have knowledge or skill that he or she does not have in a particular field; charlatan
Etymology: short for quacksalver
adjective
- characterized by pretentious claims with little or no foundation
- dishonestly claiming to effect a cure
intransitive verb
to engage in quackery
quack
n.
quack and charlatan both apply to a person who unscrupulously pretends to knowledge or skill he or she does not possess, but quack almost always is used of a fraudulent or incompetent practitioner of medicine; mountebank, in modern use, suggests a self-promoting person who resorts to cheap methods or trickery in his or her work, etc.; impostor applies esp. to a person who fraudulently assumes the identity or character of another; fake is a colloquial term for a person who practices deception or misrepresentation
Object
- duck: Mention must be made of the neighbors happily quacking ducks for those with sensitive ears!
Converse of object
- do: So, where does the word quack come from?
Modifies a noun
- medicine: In other cases, he recommended his own quack medicines.
- doctor: A quack doctor who was virtually illiterate, Joseph Healey was one of the main leaders of the parliamentary reform movement in Lancashire.
- cure: But only a few months ago, the Small Business Minister described them as ' the quack cure for regulations ' .
- nostrum: James is put to work at country fairs, promoting a quack nostrum for pain relief.
Modifying Another Word
- loudly: If it quacks really loudly it is a hen.
- n't: Ducks do n't quack all the time but can be vocal if something surprises them.
Noun used with modifier
- duck: I have recently filmed Daisy the Duck for Salford University disproving the urban myth that a Ducks Quack doesn't echo.
Preposition: of
- description: This is the standard approach of cranks and quacks of all descriptions.
Preposition: like
- duck: An Australian man was fined $ 2,000 for quacking like a duck on his radio transmitter.
A potent quack, long versed in human ills, Who first insults the victim whom he kills; Whose murd'rous hand a drowsy bench protect, And whose most tender mercy is neglect.
Browse dictionary entries near quack
- quack grass ›
- quackery ›
- quackish ›
- quacksalver ›
- quad ›
- quadbit ›
- quadr- ›
- Quadragesima ›
- quadragesimal ›
- quadrangle ›
Print this Page
Suggestion Box
Send to Friend
