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

“These quacks would tell them, ‘The reason your life is in disarray is you suffered a trauma that you’ve repressed, and we need to get to the root of it,’” Ofshe said.

From Los Angeles Times

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent on Friday, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”

From Los Angeles Times

Decades ago, right-wing political quacks like Newt Gingrich concluded that comity and compromise on the part of politicians made the government look too good, as if it could actually work.

From Salon