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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of highbrow
Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026
The Onion has long delighted readers with a mix of highbrow and stupidly silly news stories that parody the latest social trends and political tirades, highlighting their absurdity—and deeper truths.
—Lauren Giella, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2026
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
Since co-founding Vampire Weekend 20 years ago and producing the band’s first three albums, Rostam Batmanglij has enjoyed a unique profile as a pop songwriter and studio wizard, especially for a guy whose sound never really left his old band’s highbrow sensibilities behind.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026
The Onion has long delighted readers with a mix of highbrow and stupidly silly news stories that parody the latest social trends and political tirades, highlighting their absurdity—and deeper truths.
—Lauren Giella, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2026
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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Yet as time and intellectual capacity move forward, Angie begins to act more independently.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
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Build a culture of intellectual accountability in which employees are expected to interrogate AI output rather than relay it.—
Chris Rosenberg,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Later that day, Mars will enter Gemini for the first time in two years, making the energy busier, faster and more cerebral.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
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All of this creates new pathways between the brain’s neurons, improving cerebral neuroplasticity and preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia.—
Alessandra Signorelli,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Astrology, a pursuit that hovers in the nebulous space between science and storytelling, is not exactly a robust academic field, and LaFaive had no scholarly studies of Goodman’s life or work to consult.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Born to a humble family in the twilight years of the shogunate, Higuchi Natsuko (as she was born) was the fourth child and second daughter of a man with scholarly inclinations, who as a farmer had come to the capital to seek both fortune and rank.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrow. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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