philistine — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A person who is ignorant or uneducated; specifically, a person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture, and who has pedestrian tastes.

   Usage

   • Derogatory

   Synonyms

   heathen

   Examples

   More examples (4)

   [W]hen he [Christoph Friedrich Nicolai] wrote against [Immanuel] Kant's philosophy, without comprehending it; and judged of poetry as he judged of Brunswick mum, by its utility, many people thought him wrong. A man of such spiritual habilitudes is now by the Germans called a Philister, Philistine: Nicolai earned for himself the painful pre-eminence of being Erz-Philister, Arch-Philistine. [...] At present the literary Philistine seldom shows, never parades, himself in Germany; and when he does appear, he is in the last stage of emaciation.

   Not only was he [Heinrich Heine] not one of Mr. [Thomas] Carlyle's "respectable" people, he was profoundly disrespectable; and not even the merit of not being a Philistine can make up for a man's being that.

   If it were not for this purging effect wrought upon our minds by culture, the whole world, the future as well as the present, would inevitably belong to the Philistines.

   Even the most pig-headed vestry-man feels that something unpleasant has been said about him when he has been called a Philistine, though he may have the vaguest possible conception of its precise meaning. [...] It is used so vaguely by people who are themselves Philistines of the deepest dye, that it is in danger of losing its meaning.

   Mr. [Matthew] Arnold has no patience with the middle-class ‘Philistines’ the dullards and haters of light, who care only for what is material and practical.

   "Oh, the Philistine! The boorish Philistine!" he murmured; [...]

   More examples (6)

   In politics this type of philistine has more than once denounced the "golden rule" as an "iridescent dream" of a lunatic. Such philistinism pleases the misoneism of the mediocre, whence the enthusiasm over platitudes and the reign of the philistine in newspaper art, literature and science.

   The object of such an aesthetic education is not the creation of a society of aesthetes. Aesthetes, in that pejorative sense, are as unbalanced as philistines.

   War was looked upon as inherently monstrous, and those who waged it – namely, military officers – were looked upon as brutes and philistines.

   [A]s if to say, "Relax, folks, we're all philistines here; we're not gonna throw you anything that's over your head"—the Victory Gardens [Theater] invites a more sophisticated response.

   [Fredric] Jameson points out that for [Theodor Wiesengrund] Adorno philistines are not 'those who do not "understand" art or, better still, who do not "understand" modern art; rather, they understand it only too well.' [...] Jameson argues that what the philistine finds incomprehensible is modern art's deferral of happiness. The modern art-lover, on the other hand, defends art's deferral of happiness as the only guarantee of preserving universal happiness at the moment of recognizing its present absence.

   They all want to know how you get to me, let them feel how they feel and be philistines because this type of love's the epitome said.

Adjective

1. Ignorant or uneducated; specifically, lacking appreciation for or antagonistic towards art or culture, and having pedestrian tastes.

   Usage

   • Derogatory

   Synonyms

   heathenphilistinish

   Examples

   [Robert] Walpole, moreover, left England not only more corrupt than he found it, but crasser and more Philistine.

   More examples (3)

   Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity. But in regard to philistine vulgarity there is no intrinsic difference between Palearctic manners and Nearctic manners.

   There is a satisfying, down-to-earth humanness about him, a kind of philistine vigor which helps us to see things in their proper proportions. He is the voice of the philistine in all of us.

   Visitors to the area are strongly recommended to have a look around the castle, for even the most Philistine of wild water canoeists cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous armoury, fine paintings and wonderful furnishings that seem to outclass all other museums and castles in the North East.

   Miles was taken seriously by the great dames of Manhattan society and was not scorned by even the most Philistine of their husbands.

Adjective

1. smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values

   Synonyms

   anti-intellectual

Noun

1. a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

   Synonyms

   anti-intellectuallowbrow

   Broader terms

   plebeianpleb