poseur

noun

Definition of poseurnext
as in pretender
disapproving a person who dresses or behaves in a deceptive way that is meant to impress other people

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of poseur Citing casual cultural interests risked being exposed as a poseur. — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026 The nature of the American political system propagates scads of lawyers and poseurs who blather on endlessly, promising everything and delivering little. — Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026 Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new. — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Nov. 2025 There’s also a conspiracy that catches fire on social media to make Superman look like a poseur. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for poseur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poseur
  1. pretender
  2. charlatan
  3. imitator
  4. impostor
  5. faker
  6. copycat
  7. mountebank
  8. impersonator
Noun
  • The transfer portal can transform a contender into a pretender in a single offseason.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The schedule is forgivable, even by ACC standards, but a rematch on the road against Notre Dame will separate the Canes as contenders or pretenders.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of pretender
Noun
  • Despite the claims of any number of charlatans who prey on the American brand of cuddly benighted ignorance, the universe will not manifest an alternate reality for anyone who simply wishes for it with sufficient longing.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • You and many others have been taken in by a lowlife charlatan.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of charlatan
Noun
  • Deafheaven broke the mold by introducing blinding light to rock music’s darkest corner, but after wave upon wave of imitators, the only subversion left is to blot out the sun.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The Dadaists used this gleefully and compulsively (see René Clair and Francis Picabia’s wacky Entr’Acte); so, famously, did Hideo Nakata in Y2K hit The Ring and countless imitators.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of imitator
Noun
  • There is a real-life medical condition called Capgras syndrome, a disorder that can be triggered by a brain injury where a person believes that someone close to them has been replaced by an impostor.
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That's the premise of te black comedy Phony, which stars Sam Nivola as teenager Sonny Cooke, who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident, convinced that his mother (Connie Britton) has been replaced by an impostor.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of impostor
Noun
  • To tell the truly venomous from the fakers, there are a couple details to help distinguish the two.
    — Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 17 Sep. 2025
Definition of faker
Noun
  • More comparisons show up in an Allrecipes roundup of Aldi copycats, which flags Clancy’s Original Potato Chips as an alternative to Lay’s and Choceur Peanut Butter Cups as a stand-in for Reese’s.
    — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The new series picks up four years later, as Assane is released and pledges to go straight and repair his relationship with his family, only for a copycat thief to once more drag him to the criminal side.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of copycat
Noun
  • Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.
    — Henry Alford, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
    — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Nov. 2025
Definition of mountebank
Noun
  • While investment fraud losses may be deductible, according to an IRS memorandum issued in March 2025, money lost to other scams — such as some impersonator or romance scams — is not, experts said.
    — Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Hope springs eternal though when Ali G misreads a message from an Elvis impersonator named Rocky (Clive Russell) who needs to talk to him ASAP.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of impersonator

Browse Nearby Words

poses (as)
poseur
poseurs
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Cite this Entry

“Poseur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poseur. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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