Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for donnish. Search instead for ponnis.
Synonyms

donnish

American  
[don-ish] / ˈdɒn ɪʃ /

adjective

  1. resembling or characteristic of a university don; scholarly; pedantic.


donnish British  
/ ˈdɒnɪʃ /

adjective

  1. of or resembling a university don

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of donnish

First recorded in 1845–50; don 1 + -ish 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In his cap and gown, he looked whatever the opposite of donnish is.

From The New Yorker Aug. 26, 2019

During a long, donnish life he also found time to co-write the only dictionary for Krio, the lingua franca of Sierra Leone.

From Economist Feb. 1, 2018

I think when I meet those arguments I tend to become a bit donnish, perhaps slightly finger-wagging.

From BBC May 31, 2017

In fact, this biography reads like two books: one an intelligent, even donnish work of criticism that connects the poems to the life, the other a sensationalistic anthology of gossip and subdued malice.

From Washington Post Oct. 6, 2015

I do not know whether I am donnish with him, or if I bullied him too much when he was little; but he is always counter to me.

From The Pillars of the House, V1 by Yonge, Charlotte Mary

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training