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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These two pretenders reflect an insider debate whose subject is not the existence of the Islamic Republic but the best method of its survival.—
Karim Sadjadpour,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
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The Cult of the Beaver has to fend off pretenders.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit taught us how to separate good science from the work of charlatans.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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First up was Ben Shapiro, who described Tucker Carlson and others as grifters and charlatans, guilty of misleading their audiences with falsehoods and conspiracy theories.—
Jonathan J. Cooper,
Fortune,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Though Cox has a small role and Panettiere returns, the lack of legacy characters makes this feel like a cheap imitator at times.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
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For decades, Gallup’s company and its imitators improved their techniques.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The impostors have been presenting themselves as representatives of the Texas Department of Insurance's Division of Workers' Compensation.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
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Days later, a note was sent directly to the Guthrie family, allegedly from a man living in Hawthorne, that authorities now say was an impostor.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 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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Some of those drones are actually copycats of Iran’s own autonomous Shahed drones.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
3 Mar. 2026
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Over the years, China has become better at manufacturing and research, and instead of copycat products, real innovation is coming out of the East, experts say.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Feb. 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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The restaurant was once filled with neon lights, roller skating wait staff and a DJ booth complete with Elvis Presley impersonator, Vader said, describing eating there as an iconic Boise experience.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
3 Mar. 2026
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To be fair, enlisting an impersonator to attend an awards show in their place certainly feels like the kind of high-concept goof someone like Carrey — who doesn’t make a ton of public appearances — might do.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poseur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poseur. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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