anti-intellectualism

[an-tee-in-tl-ek-choo-uh-liz-uhm, an-tahy‑]

noun

1. opposition to or hostility toward intellectuals and the modern academic, artistic, social, religious, and other theories associated with them.

   These “denial” movements are manifestations of a growing anti-intellectualism arising against science and scientists.

2. the belief or doctrine that intellect and reason are less important than actions and emotions in solving practical problems and understanding reality.

   Much of the country’s cultural history reflects a swinging back and forth between collective action and a rugged individualism based on anti-intellectualism.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anti-intellectualism¹

anti- ( def. ) + intellectualism

Example Sentences

These dangers are particularly obvious to academics and other intellectual elites: They include fascism, nativism, anti-intellectualism, persecution of unpopular minorities, exaltation of the mediocre, and romantic exaggeration of the wisdom and virtue of the masses.

Read more on Salon

In the 1960s, political scientist Richard Hofstadter wrote that America had periodically been swept by waves of conformist anti-intellectualism:

Read more on Salon

"How long have we had this knee-jerk anti-intellectualism? Why are we so obsessed with the illusion of perfection? I just kept pulling on that thread and it took me all the way back to the 1620s."

Read more on Salon

How long have we had this knee-jerk anti-intellectualism?

Read more on Salon

Third is "knee-jerk anti-authoritarianism and anti-intellectualism."

Read more on Salon