(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.
(sometimes initial capital letter) lacking in or hostile to culture.
smugly commonplace or conventional.
(initial capital letter) of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.
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
(sometimes not capital) boorishly uncultured
of or relating to the ancient Philistines
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin Philistīnī (plural) < Late Greek Philistînoi < Hebrew pəlishtīm
A philistine is a person who doesn’t think a lot and isn't interested in learning. Your uncle Marvin, who's only interested in eating, sleeping, and watching game shows, could be considered a philistine. In the late 17th century, during a conflict in Jena, Germany, between townspeople and students, someone referred to the townspeople as “Philistines.” Since then, philistine has described someone who stands against learning and the arts. And if you don’t start reading the great Russian authors, someone might suggest that you have a philistine attitude toward literature — the word can also be used as an adjective describing a person or thing that displays indifference to the arts and intellectual pursuits.
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With this in mind, it’s tempting to read “Wool” as straight-up satire, focusing as it does on an ingenious but eccentric writer pitched against a philistine publisher.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
After my own dalliance with carving cucumber slices to resemble Pac-Man, I knew exactly what my little philistine would do with dinosaur-shaped salmon cakes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Tacos.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2020
This message is so blunt that even I, a Marxist and philistine, found its message a bit too clobbering.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2019
And the customers at the other end: philistine Britons, mainly, who drank the stuff with sugar and milk and let it stew in the pot for hours.
From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2019
The Jerry philistine proceeded to wad everything I could remember of “Tam o’Shanter” into balls of wastepaper.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Samson’s self-sacrifice in defeating his Philistine enemies was used by Samuel Adams and others to illustrate the “zeal” of the Sons of Liberty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
It was built on the site of an ancient Philistine temple before being converted into a church and then a mosque.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2024
Part of an ancient Philistine confederacy of five cities along the coastal plain, it featured in Biblical accounts: the judge Samson was held in captivity there.
From Reuters ● Nov. 2, 2023
That would make the silver plate a pretty specific allegory for the Eastern Roman emperor as God’s designated champion on earth, like David, the victorious underdog in the struggle against the Philistine giant.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2022
David offered himself to Saul to fight Goliath, the Philistine challenger.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
