pseudointellectual
Americannoun
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a person exhibiting intellectual pretensions that have no basis in sound scholarship.
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a person who pretends an interest in intellectual matters for reasons of status.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pseudointellectual
First recorded in 1935–40; pseudo- + intellectual
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She was explaining to Gyllenhaal how she based a character in her latest film, “Don’t Worry Darling,” on Jordan Peterson, a professor turned proselytizer whom Wilde described as “this pseudointellectual hero to the incel community.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2022
All I cared about was Pacey Witter and Joey Potter growing old together and adopting me as their fast-talking, pseudointellectual daughter, Amanda Witter-Potter.
From Salon • Nov. 11, 2019
“The Answers” features a large cast, and Lacey’s depictions of everyone from Kurt, a narcissistic, pseudointellectual movie actor, to Matheson, Kurt’s devoted assistant, are deliciously shrewd.
From Washington Post • Jun. 6, 2017
He called Walter Reuther a "pseudointellectual nitwit" and characterized George Meany as "an honest plumber trying to abolish sin in the labor movement."
From Time Magazine Archive
"They're not bad, yeah. A bit pseudointellectual but, hey, aren't we all?"
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
