1. a person who deceives others, especially to obtain money; a charlatan or fraud
Usage: formal
2. a person who sold medicines in public places, often using tricks to attract customers
Usage: historical

Examples

• The investment advisor turned out to be a mountebank who stole his clients’ money.
• She dismissed the self-proclaimed guru as nothing more than a mountebank.
• The mountebank promised miracle cures but delivered only false hope.
• Historical records describe traveling mountebanks who sold dubious remedies at country fairs.
• Don’t trust that mountebank’s claims about easy wealth.
• The novel featured a colorful mountebank who entertained crowds while peddling worthless tonics.