as in materialists
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for philistines
Noun
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There are other quirky attractions here, too, like the Clown Motel, where horror enthusiasts can sleep among a collection of more than 6,500 clowns.—
Cailey Rizzo,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Jan. 2026 -
After his parents divorced, his mother took 5-year-old Salazar with her, moving from place to place around South America, and performing as clowns to make money.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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These are the ultimate capitalists, pecking ruggedly at the earth’s skin and turning its lifeblood into piles of cash.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
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Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare — the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The only animals Cook’s crew saw apart from wild birds were rats and chickens, both eaten.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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Testing the powder on rats fed a high-sugar diet, the team found that brushing with BSCT for just one minute a day was enough to restore the rats' oral microbiome, reduce inflammation, and kill the bacteria that causes periodontitis.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Philistines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistines. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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