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
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Recent Examples of poseur
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
Nobody made videos in those primitive days, nobody except weird Brit poseurs and art freaks and thirsty postpunk eccentrics, so the network was forced to play them all.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 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
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
Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Nobody made videos in those primitive days, nobody except weird Brit poseurs and art freaks and thirsty postpunk eccentrics, so the network was forced to play them all.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 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
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
Noun
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This is where hype turns into hard numbers, and contenders start getting separated from pretenders.—
Geoff Clark OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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The alliance successfully supported Maria Cristiana, who was acting as regent for Isabella II in Spain and had allied herself with the liberals against the pretender Don Carlos in the First Carlist War (1833–39).—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Then give the land back, you pompous charlatans.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
2 May 2026
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To this day, a portion of the left-wing Democratic elite views Obama as a charlatan who hoodwinked their voters into supporting him.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Baseball is a copycat league, and success breeds imitators.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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In Karp’s telling, Basquiat is someone who Just Did Things, like today’s defense tech founders, who possess a similar kind of creative conviction, as opposed to the consumer tech imitators of yesteryear.—
Simon Denny,
Artforum,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The 2025 major league impostors did not win a series until June.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
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In the end, Zac – who pretended to be rich – and Sharma – who pretended to be his mentor – were both imposters.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
Noun
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Creator denounces copycats The trend is largely credited to a TikTok video posted in March by an anonymous creator called Swhileyy.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
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What real cookbook authors say about AI copycats.—
Laurie Ochoa,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Police impersonator in Harford County This incident comes nearly a week after a man was arrested in Harford County for impersonating an officer in a shopping center.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
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From across the barbecue pit, see an Elvis impersonator, full pompadour over skinny jeans, plus a girlfriend who looks exactly like Priscilla.—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poseur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poseur. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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