Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

charlatan

/ˈʃɑɹlətən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.63 in modern English

Syllables: char-la-tan
IPA: /ˈʃɑɹlətən/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A mountebank, someone who addresses crowds in the street; (especially), an itinerant seller of medicines or drugs.

Obsolete

noun

A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.

Example Sentences

"The poor foreigner, more dead than alive, answered that he was an Italian charlatan, who had practised with some reputation in Padua […]."
"“If there’s something you don’t understand,” urged Dr. Breed, “ask Dr. Horvath to explain it. He’s very good at explaining.” He turned to me. “Dr. Hoenikker used to say that any scientist who couldn’t explain to an eight-year-old what he was doing was a charlatan.” “Then I’m dumber than an eight-year-old,” Miss Pefko mourned. “I don’t even know what a charlatan is.”"
"That this disgraceful charlatan holds one of the great offices of state in this country should be a source of constant shame and embarrassment to the Prime Minister."

Etymology

From Middle French charlatan, from Old Italian ciarlatano (“quack”), a blend of ciarlatore (“chatterer”) + cerretano (“hawker, quack”, literally “native of Cerreto”) (Cerreto di Spoleto being a village in Umbria, known for its quacks).

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: charlatan, ciarlatano

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈʃɑɹlətən/
British English: /ˈʃɑːlətən/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

charlatans (plural)

Derived Forms

charlatanic charlatanical charlatanship

Frequently Paired Words

charlatanism charlatanry

Synonyms

trickster swindler scammer bamboozler bouncer bullshitter cheat cheater cogger cony-catcher crammer deceiver

Questions

How do you pronounce charlatan?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃɑɹlətən/.
What does charlatan mean?: A mountebank, someone who addresses crowds in the street; (especially), an itinerant seller of medicines or drugs.
Where does charlatan come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce charlatan

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “charlatan”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʃɑɹlətən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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