Definition of PSEUDONYMS

Did You Know?

Pseudonym, has its origins in the Greek word pseudōnymos, which means "bearing a false name." Greek speakers formed their word by combining pseud-, meaning "false," and onyma, meaning "name." French speakers adopted the Greek word as pseudonyme, and English speakers later modified the French word into pseudonym. Many celebrated authors have used pseudonyms. Samuel Clemens wrote under the pseudonym "Mark Twain," Charles Lutwidge Dodgson assumed the pseudonym "Lewis Carroll," and Mary Ann Evans used "George Eliot" as her pseudonym.

Examples of pseudonym in a Sentence

Mark Twain is the pseudonym of the American writer Samuel L. Clemens. the most notorious serial killer of the 19th century remains known only by the pseudonym of Jack the Ripper

Recent Examples on the Web

The rhetoric used in Daygame blogs such as Jamie's is inherently misogynistic and it’s doubtful any of the women featured consented to having their experience documented, pseudonym or not. — Sara Macauley, refinery29.com, "Have You Been Daygamed? The New Method Men Are Using To 'Attract Amazing Women'," 22 Aug. 2019 Watkins sometimes awkwardly joined a cast of Asian women, most prominently a host who goes by Diana Printz, a pseudonym which is perhaps a nod to Wonder Woman’s alter-ego. — Timothy Mclaughlin, WIRED, "The Weird, Dark History of 8chan," 6 Aug. 2019 Roberts had previously communicated with NPR through Facebook Messenger, but under a pseudonym for fear of harassment. — Fox News, "Creator of 'Storm Area 51' comes forward after satirical Facebook page takes off," 18 July 2019 At a technical level, this means the Libra blockchain will rely on pseudonyms in the form of strings of letters and numbers that represent people’s identities. — Robert Hackett, Fortune, "Facebook Cryptocurrency: Calibra’s Privacy Implications," 18 June 2019 The work, written under a pseudonym, has become a key part of the modern white supremacist and Neo-Nazi canon, and is frequently mentioned on extremist websites. — Erin Woo, The Mercury News, "Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting: Fatal victims identified, suspect probe widens to Nevada," 29 July 2019 Silex was reportedly created by a 14-year-old hacker who goes by the pseudonym Light Leafon, according to ZDNet. — Xavier Harding, Fortune, "'Silex' Malware Renders Internet-of-Things Devices Useless. Here's How to Prevent It," 26 June 2019 Prosecution argued that Epstein still had the means to escape, citing an expired Austrian passport with a pseudonym found by agents in a safe. — Variety, The Mercury News, "Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein reportedly found injured in jail cell," 25 July 2019 Every Bitcoin transaction is public, but users operate under pseudonyms. — Gregory Barber, WIRED, "Everyone Wants Facebook's Libra to Be Regulated. But How?," 18 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pseudonym.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.