impostor syndrome
/ɪmˈpɑstɚ ˈsɪndɹoʊm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A psychological phenomenon in which a person is unable to internalize their accomplishments, remaining convinced that they do not deserve any accompanying success.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The office family is not the only phenomenon to watch out for at work. Another common psychological pitfall is something called the "impostor syndrome.""
- "The Myth of Growth and the surfacing of the Authentic Voice, with a dash of the Impostor Syndrome thrown in for good measure, combine to deprive women from deriving satisfaction out of the boring details of technical mastery."
- "We believe that this study suggests an important refinement in the study of women's career aspirations, one that moves us away from stereotypes about the women or the field, and certainly from any categorical ideas about women's fear of success, impostor syndromes, or self-sabotaging behavior."
- "My client, Sylvia, not her real name of course, combined fear of failure with the impostor syndrome."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪmˈpɑstɚ ˈsɪndɹoʊm/
- British English: /ɪmˈpɒstə ˈsɪndɹəʊm/