pseudointellectual
Shallow thinker posturing
A pseudointellectual affects the manner of intellectualism without the substance—dropping references, using jargon, or adopting scholarly airs to seem smarter than they are.
The word is almost always an insult, suggesting pretension and shallowness: He dismissed her as a pseudointellectual who name-dropped philosophers she'd never actually read.
As an adjective, it describes such posturing: pseudointellectual babble.
Person feigning refined tastes
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- phonyFraudulent person or thing
faker · sham · dilettante · mountebank · quack · counterfeit · bogus · masquerader
Falsely grand or important
- affectedArtificially contrived behavior
- contrivedDeliberately manufactured, unnatural
- artificialMade, not natural
- insincereFeigning belief or feeling
superficial · facade · airs · showy · grandiose · self-important · pompous · snobbery
Demeaning air of superiority
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
- superiorityHigher rank or quality
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- haughtinessDisdainful sense of superiority
disdain · self-satisfaction · sneering · contempt · snobbish · dismissive · supercilious · self-righteous
Lacking depth or substance
- surface-levelConcerning only the outermost layer
- half-bakedInsufficiently planned or considered
- unoriginalNot new or novel
- derivativeFunction's rate of change
regurgitated · skimmed · name-dropping · buzzwords · secondhand · unexamined · glib · facile
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- verboseMore words than necessary
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- floweryElaborately ornamental in style
- overwroughtExcessively emotional or elaborate
bloated · inflated · turgid · prolix · windbag · pontificator · blowhard · longwinded
Excessive focus on trivialities
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
- quibblingPetty objection-raising
- overanalyzingExcessive mental dissection
- fussyExcessively particular
punctilious · literalism · dogmatic · doctrinaire · captious · sophistry · casuistry · pedantic
poseur
Person feigning refined tastes
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
phony · faker · sham · dilettante · mountebank · quack · counterfeit · bogus · masquerader · deceiver
pretentious
Falsely grand or important
- affectedArtificially contrived behavior
- contrivedDeliberately manufactured, unnatural
- artificialMade, not natural
insincere · superficial · facade · airs · showy · grandiose · self-important · pompous · snobbery · pretentiousness
condescension
Demeaning air of superiority
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
- superiorityHigher rank or quality
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
haughtiness · disdain · self-satisfaction · sneering · contempt · snobbish · dismissive · supercilious · self-righteous · smirking
superficial
Lacking depth or substance
- surface-levelConcerning only the outermost layer
- half-bakedInsufficiently planned or considered
- unoriginalNot new or novel
derivative · regurgitated · skimmed · name-dropping · buzzwords · secondhand · unexamined · glib · facile · simplistic
grandiloquent
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- verboseMore words than necessary
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- floweryElaborately ornamental in style
overwrought · bloated · inflated · turgid · prolix · windbag · pontificator · blowhard · longwinded · sesquipedalian
nitpicking
Excessive focus on trivialities
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
- quibblingPetty objection-raising
- overanalyzingExcessive mental dissection
fussy · punctilious · literalism · dogmatic · doctrinaire · captious · sophistry · casuistry · pedantic · scholastic
pseudointellectualintellectual
Concerning thought and reason
scholar · polymath · savant · sage · philosopher
pseudointellectualanti-intellectual
Opposed to educated thought
everyman · unpretentious · down-to-earth · humble · plainspoken
pseudo, intellectual, intellectuals, intellect, intellects, intelligence, intelligent, intelligently, unintelligent