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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Recent Examples of highbrow
Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
His work embodies highbrow and lowbrow materials through a time in the 20th century when architecture was trending hard toward highbrow minimalism.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 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
The silver lining is that the Academy’s tastes tend to skew more highbrow than the precursors’, so there’s a chance the Palme d’Or winner will enjoy a warmer reception on nomination morning.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
His work embodies highbrow and lowbrow materials through a time in the 20th century when architecture was trending hard toward highbrow minimalism.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 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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And at that point, ushered into the floating mists of non-consensus with murmurings of political unease regarding content or intellectual befuddlement regarding style, the briefly sighted, singular beast of language vanishes from the visible landscape.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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Only the party of such intellectual giants as Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar and Eric Swalwell could conclude this is a logical course of action.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Rays have never put an emphasis on getting a lot of offensive production out of a catcher, instead choosing to prioritize good defense and a cerebral approach to calling pitches.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Feb. 2026
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More cerebral than emotive, Shiffrin had not been one to speak her thoughts into existence.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Internal decision-making can become polarized, funding relationships strained, and exhibitions evaluated through ideological lenses rather than scholarly merit.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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The fact that Katherine had been institutionalized may have tainted her scholarly reputation.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrow. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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