pseudoscience

[soo-doh-sahy-uhns]

noun

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

pseudoscience

/ ˌsjuːdəʊˈsaɪəns /

noun

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

pseudoscience

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.

Other Word Forms

• pseudoscientific adjective
• pseudoscientifically adverb
• pseudoscientist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pseudoscience¹

First recorded in 1835–45; pseudo- + science

Example Sentences

Jackson Women’s Health ushered in a new era of abortion bans, anti-choicers relied on pseudoscience to say abortion was dangerous and needed to be restricted for women’s own good.

From Salon

“Eugenics, after all, implies the active removal of those thought to be inferior, either through sterilization or outright killing,” observed the veteran pseudoscience debunker David Gorski.

From Los Angeles Times

We constantly hear from pseudoscience grifters and bleach-drinking advocates that we shouldn’t get vaccines because, well, because of a bunch of hooey.

From Salon

In Nazi Germany, universities were purged of Jewish professors and political dissidents, while academic disciplines were reshaped to propagate racial pseudoscience and Aryan supremacy.

From Salon

Raychaudhary said that his motivation to challenge pseudoscience came from the belief system of questioning everything that did not have a scientific basis.

From BBC