philistine

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

/ ˈfɪl əˌstin, -ˌstaɪn, fɪˈlɪs tɪn, -tin /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR philistine 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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of philistine

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

SYNONYMS FOR philistine

1 Babbitt, vulgarian.

3 lowbrow.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR philistine ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for philistinism

She was somewhat annoyed, and she made up her mind that there must be an element of Philistinism in his character.
To Leeward|F. Marion Crawford
Mark Twain, in his day, felt the stirrings of revolt, and not all his Philistinism was sufficient to hold him altogether in check.
A Book of Prefaces|H. L. Mencken
And the Philistinism that attracts them with its dash and gaudiness is not far away nor hard to reach.
Judges and Ruth|Robert A. Watson
Philistinism was the note of the age and community in which he lived.
De Profundis|Oscar Wilde

In short, I shall be converted to Philistinism, and die in the odour of respectability.
The Grandchildren of the Ghetto|Israel Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for philistinism

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 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 philistinism (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for philistinism (1 of 2)

philistine

"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.