pseudoscience

[soo-doh-sahy-uh ns]

noun

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

Origin of pseudoscience

First recorded in 1835–45; pseudo- + science

Related formspseu·do·sci·en·tif·ic

[soo-doh-sahy-uh n-tif-ik] /ˌsu doʊˌsaɪ ənˈtɪf ɪk/, adjectivepseu·do·sci·en·tif·i·cal·ly, adverbpseu·do·sci·en·tist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pseudoscientific

Contemporary Examples of pseudoscientific

But when medical doctors “prescribe” pseudoscientific remedies, it becomes dangerous.
Warning: “Natural Medicine” Is Often Code for “Pseudoscience”
Russell Saunders
April 3, 2014
At times, the Whole Foods selection slips from the pseudoscientific into the quasi-religious.
Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience
Michael Schulson
February 23, 2014
Franks was not relying on pseudoscientific nuttery about the lady-parts shutting down pregnancy in the case of rape.
Rep. Trent Franks: Just Another Idiot When It Comes to Abortion
Michelle Cottle
June 14, 2013

Historical Examples of pseudoscientific

Crowd-propaganda is often full of pseudoscientific jargon of this sort.
The Behavior of Crowds
Everett Dean Martin
I replied that these pseudoscientific “facts” had long been commonplaces.
Shakespeare, Bacon and the Great Unknown
Andrew Lang
An increasing number of esoteric, exotic, scientific, or pseudoscientific sects today bear witness to the same.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
Today, despite its reforms, it is supported by an ingenious system of pseudoscientific charlatanry.
The Great American Fraud
Samuel Hopkins Adams
The pseudoscientific synonym pheno-methylene-formate carries the idea that Pyo-Atoxin is a definite chemical substance.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2
Various

British Dictionary definitions for pseudoscientific

pseudoscience

noun

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

Derived Formspseudoscientific, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pseudoscientific in Culture

pseudoscience

[(sooh-doh-seye-uhns)]

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.