philistine

[ fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen ]

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.

   Synonyms: vulgarian, Babbitt

2. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.

adjective

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) lacking in or hostile to culture.

   Synonyms: lowbrow

2. smugly commonplace or conventional.
3. (initial capital letter) of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.

Philistine

/ ˈfɪlɪstɪˌnɪzəm; ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn /

noun

1. a person who is unreceptive to or hostile towards culture, the arts, etc; a smug boorish person
2. a member of the non-Semitic people who inhabited ancient Philistia

adjective

1. sometimes not capital boorishly uncultured
2. of or relating to the ancient Philistines

Derived Forms

• Philistinism, noun

Other Words From

• phil·is·tin·ism [fil, -, uh, -stee-niz-, uh, m, -stahy-, fi-, lis, -t, uh, -niz-, uh, m, -tee-], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of philistine¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin Philistīnī (plural) < Late Greek Philistînoi < Hebrew pəlishtīm

Example Sentences

I’d guess that, as with so many other posts, an arts czar’s job would have gone unfilled in the current philistine administration.

From Washington Post

We are encouraged to “meet the artisan,” which may have you philistine-ishly reaching for the Doritos.

From The Daily Beast

Lest you think GWS is a snooty Philistine, I'll share that I'm a great lover of old English villages and towns.

From The Daily Beast

Before forty there is yet a chance that the budding ninny may desert, and degenerate into a prig, a Philistine, or a physician.

From Project Gutenberg

They are a Philistine remodelling of the Biblical drama, in the same style as his historical pictures.

From Project Gutenberg

He may have been a Philistine, as Mr. Symonds calls him, but he was surely a Philistine of genius.

From Project Gutenberg

To console themselves for their failure they have invented the word Philistine, which expresses their contempt for the public.

From Project Gutenberg

The pressure of Philistine conquest at last forced the Israelites with a common voice to "demand a king."

From Project Gutenberg