highbrow

American  

[hahy-brou] / ˈhaɪˌbraʊ /

noun

1. a person of superior intellectual interests and tastes.

2. a person with intellectual or cultural pretensions; intellectual snob.

3. the crestfish.

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adjective

1. Also highbrowed of, relating to, or characteristic of a highbrow.

   Synonyms:

   pseudointellectual, snobbish, bookish, cultured, scholarly, intellectual

highbrow British  

/ ˈhaɪˌbraʊ /

noun

1. a person of scholarly and erudite tastes

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adjective

1. appealing to highbrows

   highbrow literature

Other Word Forms

• highbrowism noun

Etymology

Origin of highbrow

First recorded in 1895–1900; high + brow

Example Sentences

He reaped great commercial rewards with cutting-edge highbrow material—yet sometimes felt his audience couldn’t keep up.

From The Wall Street Journal

Just because something looks and feels like a highbrow, more considerate true crime offering doesn’t mean that it can’t be undone by the genre’s same trappings.

From Salon

Aster’s breakout debut, “Hereditary,” gave him an overnight pedigree as the princeling of highbrow horror films about trauma.

From Los Angeles Times

It's the little cues that make “Poker Face” a TV comfort quilt, joining highbrow humor and an accessible tone, with Lyonne’s benevolent energy and rumpled chic holding it all together.

From Salon

Still, his research revealed a fascinating throughline: the line between highbrow and lowbrow cuisine has always been blurry, and gelatin salads are a perfect case study.

From Salon

Related Words

• cerebral
• scholarly