Highbrow
adjective
Intellectual, sophisticated, or of higher cultural taste.
He always prefers highbrow music, such as classical and jazz.
Often appears as...
- highbrow literature
- highbrow culture
noun
A person with intellectual interests, who enjoys and seeks out things that are sophisticated or of higher cultural value.
She is a highbrow who enjoys reading philosophy and classic literature.
Often appears as...
- a highbrow person
- highbrow taste
adjective
Intellectual, sophisticated, or of higher cultural taste.
He always prefers highbrow music, such as classical and jazz.
Often appears as...
- highbrow literature
- highbrow culture
noun
A person with intellectual interests, who enjoys and seeks out things that are sophisticated or of higher cultural value.
She is a highbrow who enjoys reading philosophy and classic literature.
Often appears as...
- a highbrow person
- highbrow taste
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Sophistication
Describes things appealing to people with advanced education or sophisticated tastes.
She favored highbrow discussions on avant-garde art.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Pop Culture
Usually contrasted with 'lowbrow', which is simpler and more accessible entertainment.
Unlike his lowbrow hobbies, his highbrow interests were challenging to many.
Pro Tip 3/3Potential Snobbery
Can imply pretentiousness or a sense of superiority in one's tastes.
His highbrow demeanor at the film club put off some members.
Compare with
cultivateeducateenlighteneruditeintellectualknowledgeablerefinesophisticated
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Video examples
Steven Pinker: Human...
the arts are frequently said to be in decline. And I have a collection, probably 10 or 15 headlines, from highbrow magazines deploring the fact that the arts are in decline in our time. I'll give you a couple of representative
Video examples
Why should you read...
It's a very funny book. It has highbrow intellectual humor, if you have the patience to track down Joyce's references, and more lowbrow dirty jokes. Those, and other sexual references, were too much for some.
Video examples
Steven Pinker: Human...
the arts are frequently said to be in decline. And I have a collection, probably 10 or 15 headlines, from highbrow magazines deploring the fact that the arts are in decline in our time. I'll give you a couple of representative
Video examples
Why should you read...
It's a very funny book. It has highbrow intellectual humor, if you have the patience to track down Joyce's references, and more lowbrow dirty jokes. Those, and other sexual references, were too much for some.
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Michelle Dean
American Journalist
Podcast listening carries with it a faint aura of cultural snobbery, a notion that to cue up an episode is to do something highbrow and personally enriching, whether it's a history lecture broadcast from a university or an amateur talk show recorded in someone's garage.
Quote examples
James Wolcott
American Critic
Slashing its way to the finish line, 'Black Swan' is the first ballet movie for highbrow horror fans for whom ballet itself signifies little to nothing. Those of us who know and love ballet can only look on it with a different kind of horror.
Quote examples
Adrian Edmondson
English Actor
I don't claim that our TV comedies are highbrow in anyway, but I think there's a basis to them, and that's why they're more popular than other TV comedies. There's a basis of truth in them, a gut feeling.
Quote examples
Sophie Hannah
British Poet
Nobody has ever written as many enjoyable, fun-to-read crime novels as Agatha Christie. It's all about the storytelling and the pleasure of the reader. She doesn't want to be deep or highbrow.
Quote examples
Virginia Woolf
British Author
There can be no two opinions as to what a highbrow is. He is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind at a gallop across country in pursuit of an idea.
Quote examples
Maxfield Parrish
American Artist
I don't know what people find or like in me, I'm hopelessly commonplace! Current appreciation of my work is a bit highbrow, I've always considered myself a popular artist.
Quote examples
C. V. Raman
Indian Physicist
We must teach science in the mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all people can participate.
Quote examples
Phil Klay
American Writer
I love opera. I love jazz, especially Mingus. This makes me sound highbrow. I'm not.
Quote examples
David Slade
British Director
I don't see myself as particularly highbrow. I am much more populist.
Quote examples
Gordon Getty
American Businessman
I personally do not write highbrow music. If I do, it's by accident.
Quote examples
Michelle Dean
American Journalist
Podcast listening carries with it a faint aura of cultural snobbery, a notion that to cue up an episode is to do something highbrow and personally enriching, whether it's a history lecture broadcast from a university or an amateur talk show recorded in someone's garage.
Quote examples
James Wolcott
American Critic
Slashing its way to the finish line, 'Black Swan' is the first ballet movie for highbrow horror fans for whom ballet itself signifies little to nothing. Those of us who know and love ballet can only look on it with a different kind of horror.
Quote examples
Adrian Edmondson
English Actor
I don't claim that our TV comedies are highbrow in anyway, but I think there's a basis to them, and that's why they're more popular than other TV comedies. There's a basis of truth in them, a gut feeling.
Quote examples
Sophie Hannah
British Poet
Nobody has ever written as many enjoyable, fun-to-read crime novels as Agatha Christie. It's all about the storytelling and the pleasure of the reader. She doesn't want to be deep or highbrow.
Quote examples
Virginia Woolf
British Author
There can be no two opinions as to what a highbrow is. He is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind at a gallop across country in pursuit of an idea.
Quote examples
Maxfield Parrish
American Artist
I don't know what people find or like in me, I'm hopelessly commonplace! Current appreciation of my work is a bit highbrow, I've always considered myself a popular artist.
Quote examples
C. V. Raman
Indian Physicist
We must teach science in the mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all people can participate.
Quote examples
Phil Klay
American Writer
I love opera. I love jazz, especially Mingus. This makes me sound highbrow. I'm not.
Quote examples
David Slade
British Director
I don't see myself as particularly highbrow. I am much more populist.
Quote examples
Gordon Getty
American Businessman
I personally do not write highbrow music. If I do, it's by accident.
Example 1 of 10
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