as in materialist
a person who is chiefly interested in material comfort and is hostile or indifferent to art and culture
the town's philistines who think that spending on the arts is a waste of taxpayers' money
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in utilitarian
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in materialistic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in uncultured
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of philistine
Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
In pre-Revolutionary Russia some critics derided his compositions as bourgeois work aimed at philistine audiences.
—Barrymore Laurence Scherer, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022
There was no reason — other than bankrupt ideology and blinkered philistine pig-ignorance — not to go hog-wild with stimulus, say, $2 trillion for starters.
—Ryan Cooper, The Week, 10 Jan. 2022
Adjective
The Childhood of a Leader (titled after a Sartre short story), their style indicated a possible philistine route.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
In pre-Revolutionary Russia some critics derided his compositions as bourgeois work aimed at philistine audiences.
—Barrymore Laurence Scherer, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022
There was no reason — other than bankrupt ideology and blinkered philistine pig-ignorance — not to go hog-wild with stimulus, say, $2 trillion for starters.
—Ryan Cooper, The Week, 10 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for philistine
Adjective
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Curiously, Geisha was discovered on the farm of Hacienda La Esmeralda not for its quality but for the utilitarian value of its resistance to leaf rust disease.—
Lauren Mowery,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
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Bonus: once you’re finished breastfeeding, this utilitarian butter can double as lip balm.—
Pamela Brill,
Parents,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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From a purely materialistic point of view, becoming a parent means transitioning into an existence crammed with a mind-boggling amount of stuff—stuff to acquire, assemble and incorporate into your (increasingly hectic) daily routine.—
Darryn King,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
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Here’s a radical thought: Maybe their ruthlessly materialistic older brother, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), will take a cue from Piper and embrace a new way to live.—
Noel Murray,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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For their part, the Russians considered the Mizrahim—indeed, most Israelis—loud, uncultured boors.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
5 Oct. 2024
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Inserting two distinct forms of the gene into clusters of uncultured cells, the team discovered that the form of NOVA1 found in H. neanderthalensis created bumpier blobs of brain tissue when cultured, while the form of NOVA1 found in H. sapiens created smooth, spherical clumps.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
1 Mar. 2023
Adjective
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The daughter of a generous and pragmatic father who worked for the Internal Revenue Service and a mother who wore a suit of armor over a devastating diagnosis.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Many refugee writers demonstrate awareness of the fact that telling stories serves ends both personal and pragmatic, therapeutic and bureaucratic.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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The comedy-drama follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home seeking viral material, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost while dealing with avaricious relatives.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2025
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This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.—
Christine Winter,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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While no single moment led to Housewives breaking away from lowbrow connotations to widespread acclaim, everyone can agree that RHOA played a crucial part in the evolution.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
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There are few modern actors as purely watchable as Walton Goggins, a performer who is capable of both relishing in lowbrow material and elevating it with effortless charm.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Over its history OpenText has been an highly acquisitive company to build out its software stack.—
GuruFocus,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Banijay has been among the most acquisitive independent TV makers of recent years, and now reportedly has its sights on ITV.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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While the naked manicure trend has been reigning supreme among celebrities, Dua Lipa has forwent the current nail artless aesthetic for something altogether more starry and summer-ready.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
26 May 2025
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First adapted for the screen by Otto Preminger in 1958, the film starred David Niven and Jean Seberg, forever conflating the author in the public imagination with the artless allure — and iconic haircut — of Ms. Seberg.—
Sadie Stein,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Philistine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistine. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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