as in pretender
disapproving
a person who dresses or behaves in a deceptive way that is meant to impress other people
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poseur
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
Nobody made videos in those primitive days, nobody except weird Brit poseurs and art freaks and thirsty postpunk eccentrics, so the network was forced to play them all.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 2025
Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Nov. 2025
There’s also a conspiracy that catches fire on social media to make Superman look like a poseur.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for poseur
Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Nobody made videos in those primitive days, nobody except weird Brit poseurs and art freaks and thirsty postpunk eccentrics, so the network was forced to play them all.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 2025
Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Nov. 2025
There’s also a conspiracy that catches fire on social media to make Superman look like a poseur.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for poseur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poseur
Noun
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This is where hype turns into hard numbers, and contenders start getting separated from pretenders.—
Geoff Clark OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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The alliance successfully supported Maria Cristiana, who was acting as regent for Isabella II in Spain and had allied herself with the liberals against the pretender Don Carlos in the First Carlist War (1833–39).—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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To this day, a portion of the left-wing Democratic elite views Obama as a charlatan who hoodwinked their voters into supporting him.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
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Here are eight charlatans, con artists, and other tricksters who left legacies of... Vegetarianism (following a meatless diet) and veganism (the avoidance of all animal products) are becoming more and more visible and popular dietary choices.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Baseball is a copycat league, and success breeds imitators.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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In Karp’s telling, Basquiat is someone who Just Did Things, like today’s defense tech founders, who possess a similar kind of creative conviction, as opposed to the consumer tech imitators of yesteryear.—
Simon Denny,
Artforum,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The 2025 major league impostors did not win a series until June.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
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In the end, Zac – who pretended to be rich – and Sharma – who pretended to be his mentor – were both imposters.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
Noun
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Founded in 1985, this group of seven savvy string pluckers is the world’s first such assemblage and has been the inspiration for all manner of copycat ensembles ever since.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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By 1954, hospitals throughout the world were using it, and by the late 1950s, numerous copycat drugs were in circulation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
One of the night’s stranger guests was Fabio Declares, a famed Michael Jackson impersonator.—
John Ross,
Vanity Fair,
19 Apr. 2026
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They wed in a Las Vegas ceremony officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator in September 2020.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poseur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poseur. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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