1
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints
it took a while for some of the more narrow-minded members of management to be persuaded to modernize the dress code
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
narrow-minded people who instinctively feared and shunned those from different cultures
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of narrow-minded
However, curiosity can interrupt that narrow-minded thinking, according to Maya Nehru, MA, LMFT, a psychotherapist offering services in anxiety and trauma in San Diego and Washington.
—
Jenna Ryu, SELF, 25 Mar. 2026
This is a valid concern, which is why the solution must be comprehensive, not narrow-minded.
—Jerry Presley, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
This wicker man becomes a devoted partner, sparking jealousy and malice in her narrow-minded neighbors, exploring themes of love, cruelty, and societal conformity.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
However, such an observation is short-sighted and narrow-minded.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
The deficient vice of being open-minded is being narrow-minded.
—Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Knowledge-wise, science may be advancing, but, politically, its powers of persuasion are in retreat, in a moment defined, in many ways, by ignorance and narrow-minded grievance.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Its opposite—illiberal—means stingy, narrow-minded, intolerant, provincial, unenlightened, and using government to insure the flourishing of only the few.
—Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Jenna Ryu, SELF, 25 Mar. 2026
This is a valid concern, which is why the solution must be comprehensive, not narrow-minded.
—Jerry Presley, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
This wicker man becomes a devoted partner, sparking jealousy and malice in her narrow-minded neighbors, exploring themes of love, cruelty, and societal conformity.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
However, such an observation is short-sighted and narrow-minded.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
The deficient vice of being open-minded is being narrow-minded.
—Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Knowledge-wise, science may be advancing, but, politically, its powers of persuasion are in retreat, in a moment defined, in many ways, by ignorance and narrow-minded grievance.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Its opposite—illiberal—means stingy, narrow-minded, intolerant, provincial, unenlightened, and using government to insure the flourishing of only the few.
—Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrow-minded
Adjective
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But our understanding of pedantry, denoting the sticklerishness of academic specialists and grammar obsessives, is a relatively narrow one.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Of course, the narrow bench-style seat will also help shorter riders flat-foot the motorcycle perfectly.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Research shows the disparity between vaccination coverage in private and parochial/religious versus public schools is that private and parochial/religious schools tend to have higher rates of exemptions to vaccinations for moral and religious beliefs.—
Kar-Hai Chu,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
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But quietly, the third-year forward had put himself in position for a more parochial reserve reward, one that caught him unaware.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This is a guy who could write these incredibly bigoted figures, and then also write this really searing indictment of American materialism.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2026
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On Sunday Hungary’s far-right leader Viktor Orban fell in an election after 16 years of some of the most bigoted and, by many accounts, corrupt rule in post-Soviet Eastern Europe.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Ceija Stojka’s small paintings at the Drawing Center swarm with such harrowing incident that viewers may not spot the mystery in the bottom right corner of many of her canvases.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The Pistons are small favorites on the road for Game 3.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The premium cruise line also supports local businesses when buying baklava in Turkey, cold cuts in Greece, cheeses in Quebec and beer in Alaska, among other provincial provisions.—
David Dickstein,
Oc Register,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The interior and education ministries held a joint school security meeting in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday, that was attended by both ministers and all 81 of Turkey’s provincial governors, as well as police chiefs and provincial education directors.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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On the surface, the 50-year-old multimillionaire head coach of LSU getting petty online on a random Saturday in late April is an odd move.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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The souring of their relationship has at times bordered on the petty and personal.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Gaza protests had been galvanizing for Republicans, who, even before October 7th, had viewed universities as captured by radical thinking on race and politics, rife with grade inflation, and intolerant of conservatives.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Plants are intolerant of dry summer soil, making summer a stressful time for planting.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The strongest lingering image of Vernon in the broader culture is still the bearded woodsman who retreated to the wilderness with a broken heart and returned with a gnomic, insular album that would against all odds come to define its era, or at least one tendency within it.—
Mitch Therieau,
Pitchfork,
8 Apr. 2026
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Westmont is a small, insular community often selected for its security — when are people going to start moving out?—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Narrow-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/narrow-minded. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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