Synonyms of highbrow

highbrow 1 of 2

adjective

as in intellectual

much given to learning and thinking

finally, a TV series that appeals to a highbrow audience

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intellectual
• cerebral
• scholarly
• cultured
• academic
• nerdy
• geeky
• intellectualistic
• intellectualist
• literate
• blue
• intelligent
• educated
• nerdish
• eggheaded
• long-haired
• highbrowed
• erudite
• cultivated
• clever
• brilliant
• snooty
• snobbish
• bookish
• professorial
• smart
• didactic
• snobby
• schooled
• high-toned
• pedantic
• learned
• well-read
• brainy
• high-hat
• polymath
• bright
• quick-witted
• polyhistoric
• hyperintellectual

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lowbrow
• nonintellectual
• uncultured
• ignorant
• uneducated
• uncultivated
• philistine
• illiterate
• dumb
• anti-intellectual
• stupid
• unlettered
• unread
• slow
• foolish
• idiotic
• unintelligent
• moronic
• benighted
• unenlightened

highbrow

2 of 2

noun

ˈhī-ˌbrau̇ 

as in nerd

a person with strong intellectual interests

guests at her elegant dinner parties are a mix of the city's highbrows and captains of industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intellectual
• nerd
• intellectualist
• geek
• longhair
• blue
• double-dome
• wizard
• intellectualizer
• Brahmin
• bluestocking
• intellect
• sage
• mandarin
• pseud
• genius
• thinker
• brain
• whiz

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lowbrow
• philistine
• dope
• moron
• imbecile
• dummy
• anti-intellectual
• blockhead
• simpleton
• dolt
• dunce
• dumbbell
• pinhead
• nitwit
• fathead
• half-wit

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of highbrow

Adjective

After all, The Odyssey’s initial success has both a highbrow and a lowbrow element to it. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026

On the Approval Matrix, on this particular night, The Bear is smack in the middle of highbrow and lowbrow, and fully on the side of brilliant, with no hints of the despicable. — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 26 June 2026

Noun

The roll call of films ranges from the highbrow to the decidedly grungy, the menu of a true movie fanatic. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023

Tár is its highbrow counterpart, teasing and celebrating the same personal crisis and class issues. — Armond White, National Review, 27 Jan. 2023