Spanish word

matasanos

Pronunciation

IPA/mataˈsanos/

Meaning

  • masculine nounquack

Example

¡No vayas al matasanos!

Don't go to the quack!

Illustration for matasanos (quack)

More examples

Denunciaron al matasanos por mala praxis.

They sued the quack for malpractice.

Core concept

Doctor who harms patients.

Common phrases

  • evitar al matasanos

    avoid the quack

  • denunciar a un matasanos

    sue a quack

  • caer en manos de un matasanos

    fall into the hands of a quack

Similar words

charlatán: Deceives people to obtain money.
curandero: Treats ailments with traditional or herbal remedies.
farsante: Pretends competence but lacks real skill.
estafador: Tricks people out of their money.

Definition in Spanish

Persona, normalmente médico, que por incompetencia o por prácticas engañosas causa daño o empeora la salud de sus pacientes.

Word origin

From Spanish matar 'to kill' + sano 'healthy', literally 'killer of the healthy', used for a physician whose incompetence or deceit makes patients worse.

Usage tips

  • Strongly pejorative and colloquial, used to insult or warn about a practitioner, so it is inappropriate in formal contexts and neutral alternatives are 'médico incompetente' or 'charlatán'.

Opposites

  • médico cualificadoqualified doctornoun

Word lists with this word