pseudo-intellectual

noun

disapproving
: a person who wants to be thought of as having a lot of intelligence and knowledge but who is not really intelligent or knowledgeable

Examples of pseudo-intellectual in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some, in exchange for gigs at the Fidesz-run enterprises, supply Orbánism its pseudo-intellectual gloss. — Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026 More typically, a manifesto buries its author’s crimes beneath layers of pseudo-intellectual baloney. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 28 Apr. 2026 The idea that the film critiques itself is pseudo-intellectual nonsense out of Brown University (Haynes’s alma mater). — Armond White, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024 Celebrated by some as gospel and criticized by others as pseudo-intellectual, the split-personality meanderings of Pitt and his counterpart — played by the incredible Edward Norton — have endured the test of time. — Derek Scancarelli, EW.com, 27 June 2025

Rhymes for pseudo-intellectual

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pseudoinsoluble
pseudo-intellectual
Pseudois
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Cite this Entry

“Pseudo-intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pseudo-intellectual. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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