definitions

philistine

[ fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen ]
/ ˈfɪl əˌstin, -ˌstaɪn, fɪˈlɪs tɪn, -tin /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

blue, gross, roughneck, ribald, offensive, foul, barbarian, raw, base, low, crude, rough, mean, bawdy, common, vulgarian, rube, oaf, goon, lout

Nearby words

philippus, philips, philips, ambrose, philistia, philistian, philistine, philistines, philistinism, phillip, phillips, phillips catheter

Origin of philistine

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

SYNONYMS FOR philistine

1 Babbitt, vulgarian.
3 lowbrow.

Related forms

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for philistines

British Dictionary definitions for philistines

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

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

Culture definitions for philistines

Philistines

[ (fil-uh-steenz, fi-lis-tinz, fi-lis-teenz) ]

In the Old Testament, enemies of the Israelites in their settlement in the Promised Land. (See David and Samson.)

Note

A “philistine” has come to mean a person who is ignorant and uncultured.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.