as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking
finally, a TV series that appeals to a highbrow audience
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
guests at her elegant dinner parties are a mix of the city's highbrows and captains of industry
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of highbrow
Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
And well before Telluride co-founder Tom Luddy’s death in 2023, Huntsinger has been flying solo and booking a strong lineup of highbrow awards contenders, classics, and idiosyncratic discoveries.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2025
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023
Tár is its highbrow counterpart, teasing and celebrating the same personal crisis and class issues.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for highbrow
Adjective
That combination of highbrow admiration and crowd-pleasing shocks is a treasured feat in horror.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
And well before Telluride co-founder Tom Luddy’s death in 2023, Huntsinger has been flying solo and booking a strong lineup of highbrow awards contenders, classics, and idiosyncratic discoveries.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
The roll call of films ranges from the highbrow to the decidedly grungy, the menu of a true movie fanatic.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023
Tár is its highbrow counterpart, teasing and celebrating the same personal crisis and class issues.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for highbrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highbrow
Adjective
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But if nothing changes, the future of conservative politics will see much of the anti-semitic rhetoric as a badge of intellectual honesty.—
Eli Thompson,
Rolling Stone,
8 Nov. 2025
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With that being said, when Venus squares Pluto, the clash between emotional intensity (Scorpio) and intellectual detachment (Aquarius) is undeniable.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The book was created using a biological, sensual craft, as well as a cerebral one.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Much of this lovely, cerebral film unfolds in a cozy Manhattan high-rise, a Christmas tree twinkling in the background as snow falls outside.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Much scholarly attention is also paid to the science of electrical storage, enabling a body to function as a permanently recharged battery, and to the use of an enormous lightning-rod mechanism, which will harness lightning from atop an isolated tower, where Victor conducts his experiments.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
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The study, published on the open-access scholarly article archive, arxiv, has not yet been peer-reviewed.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Highbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrow. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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