pseudo

adjective

ˈsü-(ˌ)dō How to pronounce pseudo (audio)
Definition of pseudonext
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality the pseudo friendliness of a salesperson trying to sell you something

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 pseudo Many of the individual works are stellar, but the theme is so baggy as to be meaningless, and the wall labels have a rote, pseudo-academic quality. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023 If the tree happened to be on ancestral indigenous land, someone invented racist, pseudo-indigenous fictions to lend the tree an aura of romance. — Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023 Sure, Faith Family plays a pseudo-national schedule, with 11 of its first 26 games against out-of-state teams. — Dallas News, 31 Jan. 2023 In the show, which is directed by Burnham, Berlant performs a pseudo-biographical monologue about her journey as an actor. — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2023 See All Example Sentences for pseudo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pseudo
  1. mock
  2. false
  3. fake
  4. strained
  5. unnatural
  6. mechanical
  7. artificial
  8. simulated
Adjective
  • In convict poker, a raging bull is loosed on a mock card game, and the last man still seated wins a prize.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 7 Nov. 2026
  • From doctors prescribing travel to Sweden as a medical treatment to Oslo's viral mock-documentary narrated by a jaded local called Halfdan.
    — Lola Akinmade, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Black asserts that the statements made by Garcia are false and that traveling to appear on national television to make such statements about the inquiry into Epstein’s crimes goes beyond the purview of a member of Congress.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The hotel had something of a false, albeit star-studded, start, opening for just one night in April 2020 (with first guests including stellar artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and Takashi Murakami), before it was closed by the pandemic.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of false
Adjective
  • Taking a page out of Better Call Saul‘s playbook, NBC is launching a fake billboard-style ad for Jim Rockford, complete with a hotline number, just like the AMC drama did with attorney Saul Goodman.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Stone was dressed as an aesthetically conscious conservative housewife with a crisp button-down shirt, A-line skirt, peroxide blowout and fake facelift sutures.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of fake
Adjective
  • That decision left the financially strained athletic department staring at a buyout of roughly $50 million.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The relationship between LaLiga and Real Madrid is beyond strained—see Tebas’ Nazi comments as an example—but on this two agreed that everyone involved had to bend the knee.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of strained
Adjective
  • Some movements feel unnatural, facial expressions are exaggerated, and small details occasionally fall into the uncanny valley or break rules of logical consistency.
    — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But closer examination reveals that OpenAI’s proof builds its unnatural force in a totally distinct way.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of unnatural
Adjective
  • Led by scientists at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, the team investigated a kind of bone cell that detects mechanical forces, known as osteocytes.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
  • With composites, thermal cycling and mechanical strain can cause cracking, exacerbating losses of molecular hydrogen.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of mechanical
Adjective
  • This expansive set of 50 items comes with artificial pumpkins, artificial leaves, artificial acorns, artificial pine cones and a mesh bag for storage.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 10 Nov. 2026
  • The 990-foot ship, which was docked in Philadelphia for decades, is set to become the world's largest artificial reef on Wednesday instead of Thursday, Okaloosa County, Florida, officials announced Monday night.
    — CBS Philadelphia, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of artificial
Adjective
  • Eight of those events involved live-fire activity, allowing personnel to train with actual munitions rather than relying exclusively on simulated engagements.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Astronomers can then remove the simulated glare from the original image.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of simulated

Browse Nearby Words

pseud
pseudo
pseudonym
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pseudo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pseudo. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of valorous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All