"highbrow" meaning in English

See highbrow in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Etymology: A compound of the words high + brow, first recorded usage in 1875. Referring to the (by that time discredited) science of phrenology, which suggested that a person of intelligence and sophistication would possess a higher brow-line than someone of lesser intelligence and sophistication. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|high|brow}} high + brow Head templates: {{en-adj|?}} highbrow
  1. (sometimes derogatory) Intellectually stimulating, highly cultured, sophisticated. Tags: derogatory, sometimes Translations (highly cultured): интелектуален (intelektualen) (Bulgarian), intel·lectual (Catalan), 陽春白雪 (Chinese Mandarin), 阳春白雪 (yángchūnbáixuě) (Chinese Mandarin), intello (French), intellektuell [positive] (German), hochintellektuell (note: of a person or thing; more negative) (German), vergeistigt (German), anspruchsvoll [positive] (German), geistreich (German), geistvoll (German), hochgeistig (note: of a thing also; more negative) (German), hochgestochen (German), hochtrabend (German), bildungsbürgerlich (note: in particular German context) [negative] (German), ardnósach (Irish), intellettuale (Italian), intellettualoide [pejorative] (Italian), ard-inçhynagh (Manx), intelectual (Spanish), cultivado (Spanish), élite (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-highbrow-en-adj-fg8PJBIu Categories (other): English bahuvrihi compounds, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Manx translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English bahuvrihi compounds: 60 40 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 74 26 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 88 12 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 86 14 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 69 31 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 63 37 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 89 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 80 20 Disambiguation of Terms with Manx translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 47 53 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 90 10

Noun

Forms: highbrows [plural]
Etymology: A compound of the words high + brow, first recorded usage in 1875. Referring to the (by that time discredited) science of phrenology, which suggested that a person of intelligence and sophistication would possess a higher brow-line than someone of lesser intelligence and sophistication. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|high|brow}} high + brow Head templates: {{en-noun}} highbrow (plural highbrows)
  1. (sometimes derogatory) A cultured or learned person or thing. Tags: derogatory, sometimes Categories (topical): People Synonyms: intellectual, scholar Translations: интелектуалец (intelektualec) [feminine] (Bulgarian), intello [feminine, masculine] (French), Intellektueller [masculine] (German), Intellektuelle [feminine] (German), intelectual [feminine, masculine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-highbrow-en-noun-dswndZGJ Disambiguation of People: 23 77 Categories (other): Terms with Portuguese translations Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 47 53

Inflected forms

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  "etymology_text": "A compound of the words high + brow, first recorded usage in 1875. Referring to the (by that time discredited) science of phrenology, which suggested that a person of intelligence and sophistication would possess a higher brow-line than someone of lesser intelligence and sophistication.",
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          "text": "highbrow entertainment",
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          "text": "“He's so darn afraid you'll be offended if he smokes. You scare him. Every time he speaks of the weather you jump him because he ain't talking about poetry or Gertie—Goethe?—or some other highbrow junk. You've got him so leery he scarcely dares to come here.”",
          "type": "quote"
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        "Intellectually stimulating, highly cultured, sophisticated."
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      "id": "en-highbrow-en-adj-fg8PJBIu",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
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          "Intellectually",
          "intellectually"
        ],
        [
          "stimulating",
          "stimulating"
        ],
        [
          "sophisticated",
          "sophisticated"
        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes derogatory) Intellectually stimulating, highly cultured, sophisticated."
      ],
      "tags": [
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "intelektualen",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "интелектуален"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "intel·lectual"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "陽春白雪"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "yángchūnbáixuě",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "阳春白雪"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "intello"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "raw_tags": [
            "of a person or thing"
          ],
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "tags": [
            "positive"
          ],
          "word": "intellektuell"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "note": "of a person or thing; more negative",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "hochintellektuell"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "vergeistigt"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "raw_tags": [
            "of a thing also"
          ],
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "tags": [
            "positive"
          ],
          "word": "anspruchsvoll"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "geistreich"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "geistvoll"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "note": "of a thing also; more negative",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "hochgeistig"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "hochgestochen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "hochtrabend"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "note": "in particular German context",
          "raw_tags": [
            "of a person"
          ],
          "sense": "highly cultured",
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            "negative"
          ],
          "word": "bildungsbürgerlich"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "ardnósach"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "intellettuale"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "tags": [
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          ],
          "word": "intellettualoide"
        },
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          "code": "gv",
          "lang": "Manx",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "ard-inçhynagh"
        },
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          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "intelectual"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "cultivado"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "highly cultured",
          "word": "élite"
        }
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  "word": "highbrow"
}

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        "(sometimes derogatory) A cultured or learned person or thing."
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          "word": "scholar"
        }
      ],
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          "code": "bg",
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          "roman": "intelektualec",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
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          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "tags": [
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "intello"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Intellektueller"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Intellektuelle"
        },
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            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "intelectual"
        }
      ]
    }
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  "word": "highbrow"
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    {
      "code": "bg",
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      "roman": "intelektualen",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "интелектуален"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "intel·lectual"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "陽春白雪"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yángchūnbáixuě",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "阳春白雪"
    },
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      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "intello"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
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        "of a person or thing"
      ],
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ],
      "word": "intellektuell"
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      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "note": "of a person or thing; more negative",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "hochintellektuell"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "vergeistigt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a thing also"
      ],
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ],
      "word": "anspruchsvoll"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "geistreich"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "geistvoll"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "note": "of a thing also; more negative",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "hochgeistig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "hochgestochen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "hochtrabend"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "note": "in particular German context",
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      ],
      "sense": "highly cultured",
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      "word": "bildungsbürgerlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "ardnósach"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "intellettuale"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
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      "word": "intellettualoide"
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      "code": "gv",
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      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "ard-inçhynagh"
    },
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      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "intelectual"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "cultivado"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "highly cultured",
      "word": "élite"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "phrenology"
  ],
  "word": "highbrow"
}

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        "(sometimes derogatory) A cultured or learned person or thing."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "intellectual"
        },
        {
          "word": "scholar"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "intelektualec",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "интелектуалец"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "intello"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Intellektueller"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Intellektuelle"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "intelectual"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "phrenology"
  ],
  "word": "highbrow"
}

Download raw JSONL data for highbrow meaning in English (6.8kB)

{
  "called_from": "page/2517",
  "msg": "UNIMPLEMENTED parse_translation_template: trans-top-see {1: 'intellectual', 2: 'intellectual'}",
  "path": [
    "highbrow",
    "Template:trans-top-see",
    "TEMPLATE_FN"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "highbrow",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.