as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking
finally, a TV series that appeals to a highbrow audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 highbrow
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
24 May 2026
Few actors veer so wildly between highbrow and low entertainment.
—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
18 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
Sure, there are hundreds of arts festivals throughout the South, but An Appalachian Summer celebrates such an array of highbrow and grassroots folks alike.
—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
24 May 2026
Few actors veer so wildly between highbrow and low entertainment.
—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
18 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
-
The economy was shifting from industrial to intellectual — knowledge workers wanted meaning, autonomy, and vision.
-
Over time, some worry, the next generation of mathematicians may suffer from a form of intellectual atrophy, unable to think outside the AI box that trained them.
Adjective
-
Your 5th House of Creativity takes center stage as the instinctive Moon squares cerebral Mercury in your 2nd House of Money and Values.
-
By age 18, Davis’s parents had both died within 11 months of each other — his mother, Florence, of a cerebral hemorrhage, his father, Herman, of a heart attack.
Adjective
-
The sessions aim to pair scholarly depth with a casual, social atmosphere.
-
According to Mercy Fash and Emani Campbell’s emerging scholarly research at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, this intersection is worthy of greater attention because of an exacerbated threat that could severely harm Black women.
Cite this Entry
“Highbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrow. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
