true-believer syndrome

noun

A phenomenon in which witnesses to a staged event continue to believe in its authenticity even after it has been debunked.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nountrue-believer syndrome (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA phenomenon in which witnesses to a staged event continue to believe in its authenticity even after it has been debunked.

Origin

Coined by M. Lamar Keene in his book The Psychic Mafia (1976).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

true-believer syndrome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/true-believer%20syndrome

MLA

“true-believer syndrome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/true-believer%20syndrome. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “true-believer syndrome,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/true-believer%20syndrome.

Source: true-believer syndrome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.