pseudopopular

English

Etymology

From pseudo- +‎ popular.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

pseudopopular (not comparable)

1. Apparently, but not actually, popular.
   • 1997, Amitava Kumar, Class Issues: Pedagogy, Cultural Studies, and the Public Sphere, page 70:

     One must especially be alert, moreover, to distinguish popular materials, whether literary or nonliterary, from a kind of “pseudopopular” based on the current marketing of the Renaissance, through star-system phenomena like Kenneth Branagh and theme park-style Renaissance festivals.

   • 2004, Catherine M. S. Alexander, Shakespeare and Politics, page 133:

     To us, the final step of Richard's coup, the pseudopopular offer of the crown, looks like a grand display of theatrical fireworks. But to the gullible spectators-within-the play, it is a political bludgeoning.