Pseudo Meaning
/ˈs(j)uːdəʊ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn intellectually pretentious person; a pseudointellectual.
nounA poseur; one who is fake.
Sentence Examples
The group was criticized for promoting various pseudo sciences.
A pseudo friend is someone who is only there when things are good.
Their pseudo-scientific rhetoric serves as justification for America's imperialist foreign policy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The expert easily identified the ____ diamond because it was made of glass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company was accused of using ____ scientific claims to market its unproven health products.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English, derived from prefix pseudo-, itself derived from Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false, lying”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Issues such as verifiability (for age declared), anonymity (in spite of pseudos and avatars) and traceability are at stake[…]"
— 2011, Divina Frau-Meigs, Media Matters in the Cultural Contradictions of the "Information Society", page 299:
"Last week saw perhaps the first major showdown between the pseudo cryptolibertarianism they both espouse and that old-fashioned, resolutely analogue concept known as the nation state. For anyone who has spent any time pondering the intergalactic levels of entitlement among the tech broligarchy and the – until now – total impunity they’ve faced, the arrest and subsequent charging of Durov was a singular moment."
— 2024 August 31, Carole Cadwalladr, “Don’t rejoice yet, Elon Musk and his tech bros-in-arms are winning the global battle for the truth”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2025:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The expert easily identified the ____ diamond because it was made of glass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company was accused of using ____ scientific claims to market its unproven health products.