pseud
/sjuːd
/noun British informal
A pretentious person, especially one who claims to know a great deal about art, literature, etc. this method is the refuge of the charlatan, the pseud, and the modestly talented [as modifier]: pseud gabbing about man’s primal nature...
- The guest list has so far been commendably free of the academics, hack-ademics, cranks and pseuds who once appeared to comprise the resident Montrose intelligentsia.
- I mean, you just know he watched all the New York pseuds sitting down for a performance of his entirely-silent composition 4'33 ‘, and had serious trouble keeping from giggling.’
- It's an effect called ‘frame dragging,’ which you can now officially use to trump the pseuds at the next cocktail party.
Synonyms
pretentious person, poser, poseur, show-off, sham, fraud
informal phoney
Origin
1960s: abbreviation of pseudo.