highbrowed

adjective

as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking highbrowed readers were not bothered by the novel's lack of a conventional plot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for highbrowed
  1. intellectual
  2. cerebral
  3. cultured
Adjective
  • Walzer thought the matter through aloud with me, at one point letting out a small chuckle at his intellectual perplexity.
    — Jordi Graupera, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The 500-piece collection reflects the Black writers who have shaped her intellectual and artistic growth.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of intellectual
Adjective
  • But Blade Runner isn’t just known for cerebral questions about existence and purpose, it’s also known for breaking visual ground.
    — Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026
  • This becomes clear when, moving on from ephemera, the exhibit turns cerebral.
    — J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of cerebral
Adjective
  • Too obviously the gift of someone trying to seem casually cultured?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • As the war wound down, Olivier was becoming more obsessed with directing, often counting on Leigh as his cultured, measured adviser.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of cultured
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.

Browse Nearby Words

highbrow
highbrowed
highbrowism
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Highbrowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrowed. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All