pseudo-intellectual
noun
disapproving
: a person who wants to be thought of as having a lot of intelligence and knowledge but who is not really intelligent or knowledgeable
Examples of pseudo-intellectual in a Sentence
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Celebrated by some as gospel and criticized by others as pseudo-intellectual, the split-personality meanderings of Pitt and his counterpart — played by the incredible Edward Norton — have endured the test of time.
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Derek Scancarelli, EW.com, 27 June 2025
Now, The Devil, Probably resurfaces during the vogue for outward pathologies, hidden grotesquerie — and the pseudo-intellectual agnosticism of Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Sep. 2024
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Derek Scancarelli, EW.com, 27 June 2025
Now, The Devil, Probably resurfaces during the vogue for outward pathologies, hidden grotesquerie — and the pseudo-intellectual agnosticism of Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Pseudo-intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pseudo-intellectual. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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