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

      a quack doctor

2. informal.
   a doctor; physician or surgeon

verb

1. intr to act in the manner of a quack

quack

²

/ kwæk /

verb

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

noun

1. the harsh guttural sound made by a duck

Derived Forms

• ˈquackish, adjective

Other Words From

• quack·ish adjective
• quack·ish·ly adverb
• quack·ish·ness noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of quack¹

C17: short for quacksalver

Origin of quack²

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

Example Sentences

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

This warning from federal Judge Mark Walker of Tallahassee, Fla., to Gov. Ron DeSantis and his quack state surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, may not be the most scathing denunciation of a litigant by a judge in judicial history, but it will do for now as a contemporary standard.

From Los Angeles Times

Florida’s quack surgeon general Joseph Ladapo dismisses the threat of measles, but the danger is deadly and real.

From Los Angeles Times

Witness the presidential campaign of anti-vaccine crackpot Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the dangerous attack on medical science by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his quack henchman, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.

From Los Angeles Times

Silicon Valley elites, despite their professed devotion to reason and scientific wisdom, have often hawked quack medical cures or advocated for bizarre trends like consuming “raw water.”

From Slate