highbrow
/ˈhʌɪbraʊ
/often derogatory
adjective
Intellectual or rarefied in taste: innovatory art had a small, mostly highbrow following...
- He has inexpensive tastes, even if he likes highbrow culture, and has the common touch.
- So, if you thought ‘Ulysses’ was only for highbrow academics, come along and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised!
- Now a series of reports questioning his ability to deliver highbrow culture into the establishment may have damaged his reputation.
Synonyms
intellectual, scholarly, bookish, cultured, cultivated, academic, educated, studious, serious, donnish, bluestocking, well read, widely read, well informed, sophisticated, erudite, learned
informal brainy, egghead
archaic lettered, clerkly
noun
A highbrow person: she considered all those without television as highbrows, intellectual snobs, or paupers...
- They think that, like the hicks of Holcomb and the fawning highbrows of Manhattan's literary salons, we will be won over by his wit and charm.
- Edward was not an irredeemable highbrow, and he insisted that one of the most significant moments of his life was getting to meet Cyd Charisse.
- After a summer that has found all the highbrows giggling at the fact they liked Peter Frampton all along, here comes a real guilty pleasure.
Synonyms
intellectual, scholar, academic, bluestocking, bookish person, man/woman of letters, don, thinker, pedant
informal egghead, brain, bookworm
British informal brainbox, boffin
North American informal brainiac, rocket scientist, Brahmin
