fakir

noun

fa·​kir

1

\ fə-​ˈkir , fä-​ , fa-​ ; ˈfā-​kər \

a

: a Muslim mendicant : dervish

b

: an itinerant Hindu ascetic or wonder-worker

2

ˈfā-kər  : impostor

especially : swindler

Synonyms

• bilk
• bilker
• cheat
• cheater
• chiseler
• chiseller
• confidence man
• cozener
• defrauder
• dodger
• finagler
• fraudster [chiefly British]
• hoaxer
• scammer
• scamster
• shark
• sharper
• sharpie
• sharpy
• skinner
• swindler
• tricker
• trickster

Examples of fakir in a Sentence

a traveling carnival that was run by fakirs preying on small-town rubes

a fakir peddling patent medicines that were mostly liquor and sugar

Recent Examples on the Web

Bankman-Fried has refined the persona of a dishevelled, savantlike techno-fakir. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022

To be fair, the new nationalists have done their best, explicitly and repeatedly, to distance their emerging movement from white nationalists, alt-right fakirs, strident isolationists, and other assorted cranks. —John Hood, National Review, 28 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Arabic faqīr, literally, poor man

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

fakir

noun

fa·​kir fə-ˈki(ə)r  fä- 

fa-;

ˈfā-kər

1

: a Muslim beggar : dervish

2

: a wandering Hindu holy person who performs feats of magic

Etymology

from Arabic faqir, literally, "poor man"