pseudoscience

American  

[soo-doh-sahy-uhns] / ˌsu doʊˈsaɪ əns /

noun

1. any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.

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pseudoscience British  

/ ˌsjuːdəʊˈsaɪəns /

noun

1. a discipline or approach that pretends to be or has a close resemblance to science

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pseudoscience Cultural  

1. A system of theories or assertions about the natural world that claim or appear to be scientific but that, in fact, are not. For example, astronomy is a science, but astrology is generally viewed as a pseudoscience.

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Other Word Forms

• pseudoscientific
  adjective
• pseudoscientifically
  adverb
• pseudoscientist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pseudoscience

First recorded in 1835–45; pseudo- + science

Example Sentences

This is what keeps experienced pseudoscience debunkers on their toes.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

"The US Top Secret-cleared aerospace and nuclear workforce is ~700,000 people," science writer, investigator and pseudoscience debunker Mick West wrote on 16 April on his Substack.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

For his part, Gassan admitted that live blood analysis is considered pseudoscience in some countries.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

“Most of this stuff is approximations. And it’s almost like pseudoscience in a way.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

Many more vignettes illustrating this and other simple logical errors might be cited, but the point is clear enough: both innumeracy and defective logic provide a fertile soil for the growth of pseudoscience.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos