ivory tower

American  

noun

1. a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs.

   the university as an ivory tower.

2. an attitude of aloofness from or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs.

   his ivory tower of complacency.

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ivory tower British  

/ ˈtaʊə /

noun

1. 1. seclusion or remoteness of attitude regarding real problems, everyday life, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      ivory-tower aestheticism

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ivory tower Idioms  

1. A place or attitude of retreat, remoteness from everyday affairs, as in What does the professor know about student life, living as he does in an ivory tower? This term is a translation of the French tour d'ivoire, which the critic Saint-Beuve used to describe the attitude of poet Alfred de Vigny in 1837. It is used most often in reference to intellectuals and artists who remain complacently aloof.

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Other Word Forms

• ivory-towered
  adjective
• ivory-towerish
  adjective
• ivory-towerism
  noun
• ivory-towerist
  noun
• ivory-towerite
  noun
• ivorytowerishness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ivory tower

Translation of French tour d'ivoire, phrase used by C.A. Sainte-Beuve in reference to the isolated life of the poet A. de Vigny (1837)

Example Sentences

It's no longer designed in an Ivory tower somewhere in Tokyo, it's shared with us, with Naughty Dog, with Sony San Diego – and together we've built the machine.

From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2013