as in materialist
a person who is chiefly interested in material comfort and is hostile or indifferent to art and culture
the town's philistines who think that spending on the arts is a waste of taxpayers' money
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in utilitarian
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in materialistic
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
3
as in uncultured
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of philistine
Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The Childhood of a Leader (titled after a Sartre short story), their style indicated a possible philistine route.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
In pre-Revolutionary Russia some critics derided his compositions as bourgeois work aimed at philistine audiences.
—Barrymore Laurence Scherer, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022
There was no reason — other than bankrupt ideology and blinkered philistine pig-ignorance — not to go hog-wild with stimulus, say, $2 trillion for starters.
—Ryan Cooper, The Week, 10 Jan. 2022
Adjective
But philistine incomprehension never deterred Stein.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The Childhood of a Leader (titled after a Sartre short story), their style indicated a possible philistine route.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
In pre-Revolutionary Russia some critics derided his compositions as bourgeois work aimed at philistine audiences.
—Barrymore Laurence Scherer, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022
There was no reason — other than bankrupt ideology and blinkered philistine pig-ignorance — not to go hog-wild with stimulus, say, $2 trillion for starters.
—Ryan Cooper, The Week, 10 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for philistine
Adjective
-
At their algorithmic heart, dating apps are utilitarian.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
After the war, aesthetic values slowly started to change, switching to a utilitarian, unornamented standard and ushering in the era of international and midcentury-modern styles pioneered by visionaries like Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.—
Katherine McLaughlin,
Architectural Digest,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The pursuit of happiness, both materialistic and spiritual, is a recurring theme in my feature films.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
19 Jan. 2026
-
More involved in things that aren’t materialistic.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The brand has come to signify rugged, often uncultured New York grit, its actual working-class relevance and celebration in seminal rap lyrics feeding internet snarkers’ stereotypes of city dwellers.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Just the opposite: The slipup shows how culture pervades even my uncultured moments.—
Harmon Siegel,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Executives at NBCUniversal frame Bravo as a brand that represents a particular type of lowbrow-highbrow reality TV, and that even if the channel vanished, the brand could live on.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
-
That balance of high- and lowbrow is absent in The Abandons.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Humble but strong, philosophical but pragmatic, Kingsley's interpretation of the leader manages to balance both his spirituality and shrewdness, simultaneously demystifying an icon while also adding another layer to the legend.—
Devan Coggan,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
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But then appeasing tradition and upending it both at once, which certainly is the pragmatic philosophy of Lyric, always is a tricky matter.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Henwick’s Ruth, opposite Margaret Qualley’s avaricious Julia, represent a fork in the road for Becket.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Harlan has an avaricious family, each member of which has something to gain from his death.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That suits the artless, unfiltered way Yo describes her life, spending a fair amount of time recollecting her own childhood.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Feb. 2026
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By contrast, Erika is a vamp, a woman whose wardrobe encompasses high fashion and BDSM — maybe this is what makes Erika choose him to be her assistant, just as her icy, dominatrix cool appeals to the refreshingly artless Elliot.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Using a patient, practical tone keeps everyone focused on useful results.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Mar. 2026
-
China is accelerating efforts to move humanoid robots beyond demonstrations and into practical, real-world roles.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Philistine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistine. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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