pseudo
pseu·do-/ˈsuːdoʊ/noun, adjective
pseudo is spelled P-S-E-U-D-O, 2 syllables: pseu·do-. The wrong spelling people search most is psuedo: about 670 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Pseudo is a derogatory noun meaning “An intellectually pretentious person; a pseudointellectual”. The plural of pseudo is pseudos.
How many letters and syllables are in pseudo?
| Letters | 6: P-S-E-U-D-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pseu·do- |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, psuedo, about 670 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell pseudo?
Pseudo is spelled P-S-E-U-D-O. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for pseudo in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is pseudo?
Pseudo appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pseudo?
- UK /ˈs(j)uːdəʊ/
- US /ˈsuːdoʊ/
Pseudo has 2 syllables, split pseu·do- in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pseudo.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Neøn-pseudo-.wav, En-us-pseudo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pseudo
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pseudo?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pseudo from its last stressed vowel (/udoʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: souped.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pseudo
- pseud-
- pseudos plural
- pseud
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pseudo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryAn intellectually pretentious person; a pseudointellectual.
- 2
A poseur; one who is fake.
- 3
informalpseudo-city code
- 4
A pseudonym; a false name used for online anonymity.
- 5
Short for pseudoelement.
- 6
Clipping of pseudoephedrine.
adjective
- 1
Other than what is apparent; spurious; sham.
- 2
Insincere.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pseudo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not genuine:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pseudo- |
| German | after-, schein-, pseudo-, falsch- |
| Portuguese | pseudo- |
| Spanish | pseudo-, seudo- |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pseudo come from?
From Middle English, derived from prefix pseudo-, itself derived from Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false, lying”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).