pseudoservice

English

Etymology

From pseudo- +‎ service.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

pseudoservice (countable and uncountable, plural pseudoservices)

1. (countable) Something offered or presented as a service that is not actually useful.
   • 2015, Edward J. Latessa, Paula Smith, Corrections in the Community, page 211:

     The pushing of doorbells, the recording of “contacts,” and the requirement of monthly reports all add up to expensive pseudoservices. At best they constitute a costly but useless frenzy of activity.

2. (uncountable, Kantian philosophy) Formal or clerical rituals that are imagined to serve God, as distinguished from genuine good or pleasing actions.