narrow-minded
Americanadjective
-
having or showing a prejudiced mind, as persons or opinions; biased.
- Synonyms:
- self-righteous, illiberal, intolerant, partial, biased, bigoted
- Antonyms:
- tolerant
-
not receptive to new ideas; having a closed mind.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of narrow-minded
First recorded in 1615–25
Explanation
When someone's narrow-minded, they're intolerant of other people's opinions and experiences. There's no convincing your narrow-minded uncle that Indian cuisine is delicious — he stubbornly insists that only "American" food tastes good. Being narrow-minded means that you've got a rigid and ungenerous perspective on the world. It's narrow-minded to believe that everyone who disagrees with you is wrong. A narrow-minded person can see only their own tiny slice of the world and doesn't attempt to learn about and understand other people's experiences. Prejudiced and biased people are also narrow-minded: "The narrow-minded opponents of integrated schools were on the wrong side of history."
Vocabulary lists containing narrow-minded
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.
Camara called criticism that she and other candidates were being allowed to run only to give the election a patina of authenticity a "narrow-minded view".
From Barron's • Nov. 3, 2025
The art world was dismissing the popular reception of Photorealism with a similarly narrow-minded explanation: Ordinary people, whose experience was being represented, liked it.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024
He said he feared that the two great powers, with their nuclear-powered militaries, could accidentally stumble into war, through a mix of excessive nationalism and a narrow-minded approach to competition around the world.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2024
"It was horrible, but you must be narrow-minded then. You must have only one purpose. I have to reach Leeuwarden," he says.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2024
Here is what that means—ideologues are narrow-minded people, incapable of independent thought and critical thinking.
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
