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definitions

philistine

[fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen]
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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
Related formsphil·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

Synonyms for philistine

1. Babbitt, vulgarian. 3. lowbrow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for philistine

Historical Examples of philistine

  • The Philistine element in life is not the failure to understand art.

    De Profundis

    Oscar Wilde

  • We find Samson visiting his Philistine wife, who remained with her kindred.

    The Truth About Woman

    C. Gasquoine Hartley

  • She labelled the Marchesino "Philistine," and popped him into his drawer.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • For you must know that not every one you meet in Bohemia is not a Philistine.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • I admit she is a Philistine, appallingly ignorant, and her taste in art is false.

British Dictionary definitions for philistine

Philistine

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 FormsPhilistinism (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
Word Origin and History for philistine

Philistine

Old Testament people of coastal Palestine who made war on the Israelites, early 14c., from Old French Philistin, from Late Latin Philistinus, from Late Greek Philistinoi (plural), from Hebrew P'lishtim, "people of P'lesheth" ("Philistia"); cf. Akkad. Palastu, Egyptian Palusata; the word probably is the people's name for itself.

n.

"person deficient in liberal culture," 1827, originally in Carlyle, popularized by him and Matthew Arnold, from German Philister "enemy of God's word," literally "Philistine," inhabitants of a Biblical land, neighbors (and enemies) of Israel (see Philistine). Popularized in German student slang (supposedly first in Jena, late 17c.) as a contemptuous term for "townies," and hence, by extension, "any uncultured person." Philistine had been used in a humorous figurative sense of "the enemy" in English from c.1600.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper