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
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
But in the pandemic’s wake, the chief human resources officer has morphed into a highbrow position, working with CEOs to drive attraction and retention among a myriad of other talent operations.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2023
Margot Robbie, playing Barbie, is clad in an exact re-creation of the original Barbie’s outfit; Gerwig is clearly thinking about the interplay between highbrow and lowbrow, between art and commercialism.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for highbrow
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
But in the pandemic’s wake, the chief human resources officer has morphed into a highbrow position, working with CEOs to drive attraction and retention among a myriad of other talent operations.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2023
Margot Robbie, playing Barbie, is clad in an exact re-creation of the original Barbie’s outfit; Gerwig is clearly thinking about the interplay between highbrow and lowbrow, between art and commercialism.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for highbrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highbrow
Adjective
-
Suppose the differences between these two cooks were repeated in many domains of intellectual labor.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2025
-
The Colombian painter and intellectual (1919-2003) was born in Bogotá and lived in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Jerusalem, Washington, and Rome before settling in Paris, discovering nature within global cities.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This is a person who was an extremely cerebral human being.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
-
The humor was of the cerebral, physical, cynical and quite often gallows varieties, but always heartfelt.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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The task has traditionally fallen to curators, who maintain their scholarly independence and grapple with the complexities of mounting shows.—
Zachary Small,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
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But factory-style scholarly productivity was never the essence of the humanities.—
D. Graham Burnett,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Highbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrow. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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