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Synonyms

donnish

American  
[don-ish] / ˈdɒn ɪʃ /

adjective

  1. resembling or characteristic of a university don; scholarly; pedantic.


donnish British  
/ ˈdɒnɪʃ /

adjective

  1. of or resembling a university don

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of donnish

First recorded in 1845–50; don 1 + -ish 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In his cap and gown, he looked whatever the opposite of donnish is.

From The New Yorker Aug. 26, 2019

During a long, donnish life he also found time to co-write the only dictionary for Krio, the lingua franca of Sierra Leone.

From Economist Feb. 1, 2018

I think when I meet those arguments I tend to become a bit donnish, perhaps slightly finger-wagging.

From BBC May 31, 2017

In fact, this biography reads like two books: one an intelligent, even donnish work of criticism that connects the poems to the life, the other a sensationalistic anthology of gossip and subdued malice.

From Washington Post Oct. 6, 2015

He looks rather an ascetic--rather donnish, don't you think?

From Jason by Forman, Justus Miles

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