Meaning of pseudoneologism | Babel Free

Definitions

A word or expression that appears to be a neologism, but is actually either not genuinely new or is a pseudoform derived from existing linguistic elements.

Examples

“A veritable lexicon of pseudoneologisms serves as the most subtle currency of this "givenness of the wrong word" in Beckett's prose. Throughout the work, arcane diction such as "dimmen," "strangury," "collapsion," "scrute" abounds. By their juxtaposition with perfectly colloquial idioms, these words present the erroneous appearance of neologism.”

CEFR level