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

• pseudoscientist
  noun
• pseudoscientific
  adjective
• pseudoscientifically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of pseudoscience

First recorded in 1835–45; pseudo- + science

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pseudoscience

He dubbed the burgeoning world of peptides as one of "pseudoscience and grift."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The goal, he says, is to supplant independent academic research with “an entire system of pseudoscience and grift.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Predicting the weather over the next 72 hours, Krick favors what might generously be termed a historically informed approach and what might ungenerously be dubbed barmy pseudoscience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

It’s important to note that many of RFK Jr.’s claims are rooted in pseudoscience — dieticians and researchers alike have criticized the entire movement, citing a lack of evidence-based scientific research.

From Salon ● May 23, 2026

The best antidote to astrology in particular and to pseudoscience in general is, as Carl Sagan has written, real science, whose wonders are as amazing but have the added virtue of probably being real.

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