poseurs

noun

plural of poseur
as in charlatans
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 poseurs At the party backstage, one of the local opening acts was having a food fight with the poseurs and celebrity curiosity seekers. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 In place of San Francisco’s decaying arts bohemia of poseurs and charlatans, they can be said to be creating an alternate bohemia. — Michael Bernick, Forbes.com, 22 July 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poseurs
  1. charlatans
  2. pretenders
  3. copycats
  4. fakers
  5. imitators
  6. impostors
  7. mountebanks
  8. phonies
Noun
  • Ours is not a society that loathes charlatans; look who’s running things.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026
  • In place of San Francisco’s decaying arts bohemia of poseurs and charlatans, they can be said to be creating an alternate bohemia.
    — Michael Bernick, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of charlatans
Noun
  • 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
  • Now, hardship seems to be an end in itself, a battle scar or badge of honor that distinguishes true backpackers from mere pretenders.
    — Tim Brinkhof, Time, 4 May 2026
Definition of pretenders
Noun
  • The show was a phenomenon that continues to inspire copycats and parodies; Hansen emerged as an icon for some, and a meme for others.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Children are born copycats and seeing parents using the toilet can inspire them to do the same.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of copycats
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 fakers
Noun
  • Few people on the continent seem to recognize that multibillion investments by US companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Amazon in space, and their many imitators in China, are radically transforming spaceflight.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
  • An exemplary script and dashes of stylish direction set this ’90s favorite apart from myriad Tarantino imitators.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of imitators
Noun
  • In this scam, imposters send you an email or text, pretending to be your hotel.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Few imposters have been quite as easy to spot as Terran Empire Spock, however, whose trademark goatee is something of a giveaway.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of impostors
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
Definition of mountebanks
Noun
  • Just as Moby-Dick is canonically about whales, Catcher is canonically about phonies.
    — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
  • At Dodger Stadium at the end of April, Crow-Amstrong also had to deal with the consequences of his actions — ripping Los Angeles Dodgers fans for being phonies in a Chicago magazine article that went viral.
    — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 22 May 2026
Definition of phonies

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poseur
poseurs
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Cite this Entry

“Poseurs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poseurs. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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