poseur

American  

[poh-zur, paw-zœr] / poʊˈzɜr, pɔˈzœr /

noun

PLURAL

poseurs

1. a person who attempts to impress others by assuming or affecting a manner, degree of elegance, sentiment, etc., other than their true one.

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poseur British  

/ pəʊˈzɜː /

noun

1. a person who strikes an attitude or assumes a pose in order to impress others

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Usage

What does poseur mean? A poseur, commonly spelled poser, is when you act like someone you're not or when you're perceived to be inauthentic. So-called emo scene kids might be called poseurs.

Etymology

Origin of poseur

From French, dating back to 1880–85; pose ¹, -eur

Example Sentences

I have little doubt that he resents real scientists, as poseurs always do when confronted with the real thing.

From Salon

And Daniel Johnson in the Telegraph called him “a prancing poseur”: “Past presidents like Resistance hero General de Gaulle felt no need to show off.”

From Seattle Times

The hypocrisy of anti-LGBTQ+ political poseurs with secret lives is one of the hoariest chestnuts on the books.

From Los Angeles Times

There was a time when I think we would have ignored such talk as the cosplaying of a bunch of online poseurs but after January 6 you can't brush this kind of talk off lightly.

From Salon

There is only Trump and certain poseurs pretending to be him by acting like narcissists and bullies.

From Salon