as in vulgar
lacking in refinement or good taste
at office gatherings his lowbrow humor often embarrassed his coworkers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in philistine
a person who is chiefly interested in material comfort and is hostile or indifferent to art and culture
the town's lowbrows think that the school's music program is a complete waste of taxpayers' money
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lowbrow
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2024
To go and see the theater one day, and then go to a Disney park, one is highbrow and one is lowbrow and that’s elitist.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
Still, to reduce this complex and original comedy to its most lowbrow moments (true, the basketball scene is horrifying) is to miss out on its oceans of brilliant writing and mid-aughts charm.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 16 July 2024
On that metric, Facebook slop actually succeeds, but in the most obvious, lowbrow way.
—Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 30 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for lowbrow
Adjective
Tobe Hooper’s 1974 slasher masterpiece embraced its lowbrow status with its matter-of-fact title and unapologetic gore, likely seen by many as a cheap attempt to ride shock value into a quick box office gold mine.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2024
To go and see the theater one day, and then go to a Disney park, one is highbrow and one is lowbrow and that’s elitist.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
Still, to reduce this complex and original comedy to its most lowbrow moments (true, the basketball scene is horrifying) is to miss out on its oceans of brilliant writing and mid-aughts charm.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 16 July 2024
On that metric, Facebook slop actually succeeds, but in the most obvious, lowbrow way.
—Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 30 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for lowbrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lowbrow
Adjective
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Nan’s rebellion was never loud or vulgar but always quietly confident and effortlessly elegant.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
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The comics were often dismissed as a vulgar form, but the bad joke of our superhero-movie culture is that most of it is a vulgarization of the comics.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Most Popular Most Popular Asking Eric: The parents refuse to cut their trip short despite their teen’s crisis Asking Eric: The parents refuse to cut their trip short despite their teen's crisis Dear Abby: Is there a way to tell the crass shirttail relations that they’re not invited?—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
10 May 2025
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But beyond the crass remarks about Read, experts say less explosive messages about Proctor's early opinions of the investigation could be damning.—
Julia Bonavita , Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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Nearly one in four Gen Z professionals viewed the thumbs-up as rude or hostile.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
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This strikes me as rude and short-sighted (no pun intended).—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Ream’s words served as an important reminder of a common theme from Saturday’s press conference, which featured five U.S. players as well as coach Mauricio Pochettino.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
6 July 2025
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This is an example of the complex variations and phase outs of tax changes that are common in the BBB, and which make understanding the changes and planning for them quite complex.—
Martin Shenkman,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Noun
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Also, this was not a good week for billionaires as a socialist Muslim won a long-shot victory in the NYC Democratic primary, partly on the promise to raise taxes among the highest income earners, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos starred in a clown show wedding in Venice.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
28 June 2025
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Ayanna Pressley, another blow-in-drifter (from Chicago), pole vaulted from the City Council clown show to the U.S. House.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 15 cents to $65.37 per barrel.—
Elaine Kurtenbach,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
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About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established air quality standards for two types: coarse particles (PM10), 10 micrometers or smaller, and fine particles (PM2.5), 2.5 micrometers or smaller.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
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And Sánchez, who styles himself a modern, progressive man, surely knew how coarse and sexist these men were.—
Gina Montaner,
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lowbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lowbrow. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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