shyster

noun

Definition of shysternext
as in lawyer
chiefly US, informal a person who is dishonest especially in politics or in the practice of law
—often used before another noun a shyster lawyer

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shyster The despicable Lindsay Clancy lawyer, using a repulsive alternative defense, shows the egregious chutzpah some shysters resort to to get a client off. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 The filmmaker has likened his perspective in this project to that of Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz, alert to the shuffling feet beneath the curtain rather than being bamboozled by the shyster title character’s techno showmanship. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 The bubble-ists think that the Coreweave people are hopeless dreamers at best and shysters at worst. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025 To demonstrate that point in a video, a researcher told a robot arm to put a bunch of plastic grapes into a clear Tupperware container, then proceeded to shift three containers around on the table in an approximation of a shyster’s shell game. — Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2025 Holmes is another shyster whose story has been dissected in several documentaries and in dramatizations like Hulu’s The Dropout, but Gibney brings specific insights and a fresh perspective to this truly unbelievable story. — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 July 2024 And there’s a character on there who is—plays kind of a shyster attorney. — Nick Sibilla, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022 How Bob Odenkirk became the great American shyster in the riveting show, Better Call Saul. — Kyle Smith, National Review, 1 May 2022 In the 1930s, it was purchased by Norman Baker, a shyster who lured cancer patients to come here for treatments that had no medicinal value. — Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shyster
  1. lawyer
  2. attorney
  3. pettifogger
Noun
  • Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and almost all of the others convicted, said he had been instructed to appeal.
    — Jefferson Kahinju Reuters, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Among the 105 people who were ultimately arrested, 75 are believed to have been deported to their home countries, according to local media, and 26 were released from ICE custody after their lawyers filed habeas corpus petitions.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of lawyer
Noun
  • In addition to the return of her property, Omar's attorneys are demanding that the Justice Department preserve any audio and video that was taken during the search, according to the letter.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Sims, an attorney was 34th District representative from 2012 to 2018.
    — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of attorney
Noun
  • For nearly three years now, I’ve been fascinated by the performance art of this blustering pettifogger.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
Definition of pettifogger

Browse Nearby Words

shyness
shyster
shysters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shyster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shyster. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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