philistines

noun

plural of philistine
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for philistines
  1. clowns
  2. capitalists
  3. rats
Noun
  • Hang out with sheep, meet magicians and clowns and explore the amusement park.
    — Cole Premo, CBS News, 29 June 2026
  • The only leaders more buffoonish and lethal than the fairground hucksters elected in our failing democracies are the omnipotent clowns of tyranny.
    — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of clowns
Noun
  • Swift, whose net worth surpasses $2 billion, has amassed a fortune that rivals tech founders and venture capitalists.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026
  • Supporters included venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen, LinkedIn founder Reed Hoffman and Laurene Powell Jobs, the Apple founder’s widow.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of capitalists
Noun
  • The real problem emerges when mice and rats turn your home into their permanent residence.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • The score drips with a sinister ostinato as the rats scurry into every corner of her castle.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026
Definition of rats
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Philistines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistines. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on philistines

Nglish: Translation of philistines for Spanish Speakers

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