noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An intellectually pretentious person; a poseur. derogatory

   "He and two friends were known as “the three pseuds” among the rest of the boys, who thought them too clever by half."

2. 2
   Pseudomonas bacteria. colloquial
3. 3
   A pseudonym. Internet
4. 4
   a person who makes deceitful pretenses wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

boasterbraggadociobraggartfakefakerfraud

Example

More examples

"He and two friends were known as “the three pseuds” among the rest of the boys, who thought them too clever by half."

Etymology

Possible clipping of pseudointellectual. From Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false, lying”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.