donnish

Definition of donnishnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of donnish Much of it is donnish intellectual history, full of interesting but digressive discussions. Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for donnish
Adjective
  • An English professor at Harvard and the author of two acclaimed novels, The Old Drift (2019) and The Furrows (2022), Serpell combines a professorial breadth of reference and a novelist’s fascination with the mechanics of literature.
    Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Learning to Engage McMillon has an almost professorial air that’s articulate, polite and exudes competence — but his skill set was honed by long years of experience.
    Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Weisz’s antiheroine is a middle-aged professor with chronic writer’s block and mounting insecurity about her potential irrelevance, both erotic and pedagogical.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
  • According to German law, parents aren’t allowed to homeschool based on their religious or pedagogical convictions.
    Katrina Donham, Parents, 25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • What bookish person doesn’t want a vicarious, insider’s look at The New Yorker?
    The Know, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
  • For many years, Larijani was seen as the bookish front man for the regime, a counterpoint to his more fiery colleagues.
    Alexander Smith, NBC news, 17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • As men's wear grew less formal, Woody Allen would stake a claim on baggy khaki and corduroy as the uniform of a tweedy, tightly wound New Yorker.
    Joshua Hunt, New York Times, 12 June 2024
  • Her clothes, increasingly, have a pragmatic femininity, like a number of tweedy bellbottom suits that opened the show, some with vests of blue and coral beads covering the front, or diamond patterns of turquoise and plum sequins on the sleeves.
    Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 Dec. 2022
Adjective
  • At the heart of this debate seems to be both a misunderstanding of the point of scholastic sports and a view, at least by some, that trans girls have an unfair physical advantage.
    Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2026
  • In a white paper released in October, the committee recommends moving the men’s game, and perhaps the women’s, from the current fall-only schedule to one that covers the entire scholastic year and culminates in an April playoff festival.
    Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 12 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • The career mode now gets real-world sponsors; there are new, super-nerdy widgets for the HUD that detail the innerworkings of the powertrain and ECU; track art, foliage, and environmental lighting have seen a lift; and AI has been further balanced, just to name a few other touch-ups.
    Adam Ismail, The Drive, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Brendon's character was beloved for his ability to transform insecurity, irony, and vulnerability into a new model of nerdy masculinity.
    Marzia Nicolini, Vanity Fair, 21 Mar. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Donnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/donnish. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster