pseudo

[soo-doh] /ˈsu doʊ/

adjective

not actually but having the appearance of; pretended; false or spurious; sham.

almost, approaching, or trying to be.

Origin

1940-45; independent use of pseudo-

pseudo-

a combining form meaning “false,” “pretended,” “unreal,” used in the formation of compound words (pseudoclassic; pseudointellectual): in scientific use, denoting close or deceptive resemblance to the following element (pseudobulb; pseudocarp), and used sometimes in chemical names of isomers (pseudoephedrine).

Also, especially before a vowel, pseud-.

Origin

< Greek, combining form of pseudḗs false, pseûdos falsehood

Can be confused

pseudo-, quasi-.

Examples from the web for pseudo

Many buyers who pay for fake degrees want the pseudo-credentials so they can trick an employer, but others are scammed.
Its point of view is deftly sharpened, its manner is urbane and charming, without posture or allegorical pseudo-romantics.
Some pseudo-events cease to be pseudo because of their sheer aptness for the moment.
Fiction is one giant pseudo-statement, a fact-checker's nightmare.
One of the villagers had opened a workshop manufacturing pseudo-antique furniture.
The musical language turns prosaic, clichéd, pseudo-Romantic.
There is no looking back, although a certain pseudo-religious popular cult figure would have you believe that you should.
Here, let me draw this pseudo circuit diagram for a spinning coil of wire in a magnetic field.
Full seasons of old television shows perfectly suit the pseudo-ownership viewers have with streaming video.
The weakest may be picked off by pseudo-specialist features added to generalist search-engines.

British Dictionary definitions for pseudo

pseudo

/ˈsjuːdəʊ/

adjective

(informal) not genuine; pretended

pseudo-

combining form

false, pretending, or unauthentic: pseudo-intellectual

having a close resemblance to: pseudopodium

Word Origin

from Greek pseudēs false, from pseudein to lie

Word Origin and History for pseudo

late 14c., "false or spurious thing;" see pseudo-. As an adjective in this sense from mid-15c. In modern use, of persons, "pretentious, insincere," from 1945; as a noun from 1959. Related: Pseudish.

pseudo-

often before vowels pseud-, word-forming element meaning "false; feigned; erroneous; in appearance only; resembling," from Greek pseudo-, comb. form of pseudes "false, lying; falsely; deceived," or pseudos "falsehood, untruth, a lie," both from pseudein "to deceive, cheat by lies."

Productive in compound formation in ancient Greek (e.g. pseudodidaskalos "false teacher," pseudokyon "a sham cynic," pseudologia "a false speech," pseudoparthenos "pretended virgin"), it began to be used with native words in Middle English.

pseudo in Medicine

pseudo- or pseud-
pref.

False; deceptive; sham: pseudohematuria.
Apparently similar: pseudomyxoma.

Slang definitions & phrases for pseudo

pseudo

adjective

False; bogus, sham: offering pseudo interest in her

pseudo in Technology

jargon
/soo'doh/ (Usenet) Pseudonym.
1. An electronic-mail or Usenet persona adopted by a human for amusement value or as a means of avoiding negative repercussions of one's net.behaviour; a "nom de Usenet", often associated with forged postings designed to conceal message origins. Perhaps the best-known and funniest hoax of this type is BIFF.
2. Notionally, a flamage-generating AI program simulating a Usenet user. Many flamers have been accused of actually being such entities, despite the fact that no AI program of the required sophistication yet exists. However, in 1989 there was a famous series of forged postings that used a phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the styles of several well-known flamers; it was based on large samples of their back postings (compare Dissociated Press). A significant number of people were fooled by the forgeries, and the debate over their authenticity was settled only when the perpetrator came forward to publicly admit the hoax.
[Jargon File]
(1995-03-13)