quackery

Q10U1A1C3K5E1R1Y4
US/ˈkwækəɹi/US/ˈkwækɹi/

noun

The practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in order to make money or for ego gratification and power; health fraud.

Similar
empiricismcharlatanism
OriginEnglish quack ← Dutch quacksalver ← Middle Dutch quacsalven →
UncommonScrabble 26
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounquackery (countable and uncountable, plural quackeries)

plural quackeries

  1. uncountablelawThe practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in order to make money or for ego gratification and power; health fraud.

    When no certain cure exists, quack remedies tend to proliferate and the history of quackery and secret cures is full of extraordinary forms of treatment for the various arthritic disorders.

    1976 March 27, F. Dudley Hart, “History of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis”, in British Medical Journal, volume 1, number 6012, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 763

    Synonyms: empiricism

  2. countableAn instance of practicing fraudulent medicine.

    […] the manifold and serpentine wiles and evasions, shufflings and fencings, deceits and dissimulations, he had practised —the bunkums and the quackeries, […]

    1925, Eden Phillpotts, Circé's Island: And The Girl & the Faun, page 122

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in order to make money or for ego gratification and power; health fraud.

Similar
empiricism

More synonyms by meaning

nounmedical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings

Similar
empiricism
Broader
medical practice

nounthe dishonesty of a charlatan

Similar
charlatanism
Broader
dishonestyknavery
Also see
charlatanismempiricismpseudo-medicinewoo woo

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Dutchquacsalven
  2. Dutchquacksalver
  3. Englishquacksalverclip.
  4. Englishquack
  5. Englishquackery

From quack + -ery.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian шарлатанство
  • шарлатанство (šarlatanstvo)practice
Chinese Mandarin 庸醫的醫術 /庸医的医术
  • 庸醫的醫術 /庸医的医术 (yōngyī de yīshù)practice
Czech šarlatánství, mastičkářství
  • šarlatánstvípractice
  • mastičkářstvípractice
Danish kvaksalveri
  • kvaksalveripractice
Dutch kwakzalverij
  • kwakzalverijpractice
Finnish puoskarointi, puoskarointi
  • puoskarointipractice
  • puoskarointiinstance
French charlatanisme
  • charlatanismepractice
German Quacksalberei
  • Quacksalbereipractice
Greek αγυρτεία
  • αγυρτεία (agyrteía)practice
Icelandic skottulækningar
  • skottulækningarpractice
Italian frode medica, ciarlataneria
  • frode medicapractice
  • ciarlataneriapractice
Japanese 偽医療
  • 偽医療 (niseiryō)practice
Korean 엉터리 치료
  • 엉터리 치료 (eongteori chiryo)practice
Latin pharmacopolia
  • pharmacopoliapractice
Norwegian Bokmål kvakksalveri
  • kvakksalveripractice
Polish szarlataństwo, znachorstwo
  • szarlataństwopractice
  • znachorstwopractice
  • szarlataneriapractice
  • szarlataneriainstance
Portuguese curandeirismo
  • curandeirismopractice
Russian шарлата́нство
  • шарлата́нство (šarlatánstvo)practice
Spanish curandería, curanderismo
  • curanderíapractice
  • curanderismopractice
Swedish kvacksalveri
  • kvacksalveripractice
Welsh cwacyddiaeth, crachfeddygaeth
  • cwacyddiaethpractice
  • crachfeddygaethpractice
Cite this entry
APA

quackery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quackery

MLA

“quackery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quackery. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quackery,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quackery.

Source: quackery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.