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philistine

[ fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen ]
/ ˈfɪl əˌstin, -ˌstaɪn, fɪˈlɪs tɪn, -tin /
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See synonyms for: philistine / philistinism on Thesaurus.com

noun
(sometimes initial capital letter) a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.
(initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.
adjective
(sometimes initial capital letter) lacking in or hostile to culture.
smugly commonplace or conventional.
(initial capital letter) of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.
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Origin of philistine

1350–1400; Middle English <Late Latin Philistīnī (plural) <Late Greek Philistînoi<Hebrew pəlishtīm

OTHER WORDS FROM philistine

phil·is·tin·ism [fil-uh-stee-niz-uhm, -stahy-, fi-lis-tuh-niz-uhm, -tee-], /ˈfɪl ə stiˌnɪz əm, -staɪ-, fɪˈlɪs təˌnɪz əm, -ti-/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use philistine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for philistine

Philistine
/ (ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn) /

noun
a person who is unreceptive to or hostile towards culture, the arts, etc; a smug boorish person
a member of the non-Semitic people who inhabited ancient Philistia
adjective
(sometimes not capital) boorishly uncultured
of or relating to the ancient Philistines

Derived forms of Philistine

Philistinism (ˈfɪlɪstɪˌnɪzəm), noun
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
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