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Pseudointellectual is a pejorative term used to describe someone who engages in false intellectualism or is intellectually dishonest. The term is often, though not always, used to describe one who regularly critiques the work of professionals, while lacking the requisite background knowledge and experience to have an informed opinion. Synonyms for this character include sophist, and in medical terms, mountebank and quack.

A pseudointellectual may affect traits that he stereotypically associates with persons of intellectual privilege, such as the display of books, classical music and art or the use of complex language, for the purpose of seeming intellectual.

Blanket calumnies against popular culture genres generally perceived as intellectually complex, in favor of some older genre solely for its historical age exemplify the actions of a pseudointellectual.

See also

• Connoisseur
• Pseudoscience