pseudoactive

See also: pseudo-active

English

Alternative forms

• pseudo-active

Etymology

pseudo- +‎ active

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌ(p)suːdəʊˈaktɪv/

Adjective

pseudoactive (not comparable)

1. Apparently, but not truly, active.
   • 1997, Mardi Jon Horowitz, Stress response syndromes: PTSD, grief, and adjustment disorders:

     […] to avoid awareness of ideas and feelings associated with the stressful event, to compensate for an immature level of ego development, and to continue a pseudoactive but actually passive-dependent life trajectory.

   • 2009, Gemma Corradi Fiumara, Spontaneity: A Psychoanalytic Inquiry, page 63:

     […] our inadequate agency and our passivity may narcissistically ensnare us into believing that we are indeed in charge of the whole complex of events and thus determine a pseudoactive sense of futile activity.

Usage notes

• The spelling with a hyphen, pseudo-active, occurs almost four times more frequently than the spelling without (pseudoactive).