Skip to main content

pseudo-intellectuals 

Pseudo-intellectuals are people of average intelligence who are enchanted with highly intellectual topics and discussions such as philosophy, socioeconomics, destiny of humanity, etc.

Unlike a genuine academic, a pseudo-intellectual’s main reason for being interested in these topics is because it makes him feel intellectually superior to his peers. He usually despises main stream culture, accuses those who disagree with him as being ignorant, and when his ideas are challenged, he often retaliates with “That’s a straw man argument!”

Pseudo-intellectuals can often be found in political discussion boards on the internet, patronizing boutique shops, participating in various Anti-something rallies, sitting on a park’s bench during a weekend afternoon and playing a guitar, or spending eight consecutive years in college trying to earn a B.A degree in political science or philosophy.
Jim: Who is that asshole that sits in the back of the class in American History and pisses off the professor all the time?

Amy: Oh, that’s Mark. He’s one of those pseudo-intellectuals.
pseudo-intellectuals by Edgardo February 5, 2007
Words you can keep

pseudo-intellectuals 

Someone who uses flashy words and quotes from intellectuals to make them sound a bit more clever than they really are because they don't have original thoughts for themselves.

Also see: pretentious
That bloke thinks he's a nihilith - yet he doesn't know anything.

pseudo-intellectuals 

1. Non-intellectuals who can at least keep up the appearance for fifteen minutes.
2. Cop-out postmodernists.
3. Critics.
...After fifteen minutes over coffee discussing the qualities of Emerson's work as being original, he screamed in desperation: "There is nothing left to be original about! There is nothing original left! I see no value in anything because everything has already been thought!" He then made an effort to point out the flaws in a friend's poem and how she could improve it with synonyms and left in silence.

pseudo-intellectual 

a person who spends more time trying to look intelligent than actually being intelligent.
pseudo-intellectual: hey, check out this self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
you: you mean that SCUBA gear?
psuedo-intellectual: yeah, that.
pseudo-intellectual by Rora47 July 26, 2012

Pseudo-Intellectual Circle Jerk 

A gathering of people pretending that they are intelligent and congratulating each other for it.
Oh man. I remember years ago when TED conferences were filled with genuinely inspiring, fascinating and ground-breaking presentations. That recent TEDx conference was just a pseudo-intellectual circle jerk.

pseudo-intellectual 

Someone who pretends to be more intelligent than they are.
A hipster is a prime example of a pseudo-intellectual.
pseudo-intellectual by louche22 September 11, 2012

pseudo-intellectual 

4 signs of the pseudo-intellectual

1. Quoting

2. Going against common thought without evidence

3. Bringing up intellectualism in non-requistite situations

4. Un-neccersary use of verbs and adjectives with 4 syllables or more
Dude #1: hey wanna go to the movies tomorrow night?

Dude #2: Nah, the cinema is so low-brow. I don't understand how so many people find aesthetic values in it. I'm going home to read. As Descartes said "cogito, ergo sum".

Dude #1: Yeah....OK.
More from Urban Dictionary

age gate 

An absolutely foolproof way to keep minors from viewing content deemed "too mature" for them to watch.
Billy: "So I was trying to watch some videos for an M rated game, and I ran into an age gate, so I put in my real birthday. SOMEHOW it managed to figure out that I am 12. CURSE YOU AGE GATE!!!"

Bill: "Fucking age gate! *quick scroll* THERE! I was born on January 1, 1904. Fuck you age gate."
age gate by Banja January 7, 2011
Word of the Day on August 27, 2026

board chow 

A)
The Crud that collects under the keys in a keyboard. Usually more severe in the keyboards of programmers and webmasters as they tend to spend a lot of time at the the computer and thus eat at their desk. Mainly affecting IBM Model M (clicly) style boards.

B)
Can also be used to gross out Non-Techie people
A)
Bill: want to go to the club?
Bob: No, I've got to clean out my board chow, keys are starting to stick.

B)
Bill: Want to go out to get a bite?
Bob: No, i am just going to have some of my board chow/
Bill: Whats' that?
Bob: The food scraps that collect in my keyboard; Want some?
Bill: *GAG* *HURL* *GAG*
board chow by BinaryHackerMan September 3, 2007
Word of the Day on August 26, 2026

young pup 

a young person, a young adult in their late teens/early 20s.
Ah, you're just a young pup at 23!
young pup by the dog May 30, 2006
Word of the Day on August 25, 2026
West Midlands slang word for rockers, bikers, greasers etc. In the late 1980s it was used by the UK music press to refer to a specific scene centered around the bands Pop Will Eat Itself and Crazyhead. The term never found favour with readers of 'the inkies' (Sounds, Melody Maker and the still extant NME) and was soon dropped. Now often used in predominantly working-class areas of the midlands and the north to mean someone who listens to rock-derived music and/or dresses in a manner that suggests they affiliate themselves with rock music of some kind.
Some grebo passed with Sabbath playing on his stereo.
The Poppies are at no. 17? God, a grebo band in the charts!
They're playing nu-metal now, bloody grebos!
grebo by cactuscat September 15, 2006
Word of the Day on August 24, 2026

TikTok Farlands

TikTok Farlands is a term to refer to videos that you see after scrolling for a long time. These videos can potentially be disturbing, or weird. Said videos can also have low likes, or low comments.
“I reached the TikTok Farlands bro”
Word of the Day on August 23, 2026

mormon assault vehicle

another term for a station wagon, mini-van, or any other kind of vehicle that is targeted at the "family" demographic(also M.A.V.)
"Tactical advantages aside, the M.A.V. is top of the line for the holy warrior troop transport manufactured by the Church of Latter Day Saints Military Industrial Complex. Also great for family trips...to heathen lands."
mormon assault vehicle by KVRX January 10, 2005
Word of the Day on August 22, 2026

Shakira Law 

A version of "Sharia Law" that Reform Ltd supporters tend to refer to, often by mistake.
Richard Tice of Reform now lives in Dubai, under Shakira Law, although telling Brits that we should worry about it
Shakira Law by Reformltd February 16, 2025
Word of the Day on August 21, 2026
Next