highbrowed

adjective

as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking highbrowed readers were not bothered by the novel's lack of a conventional plot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for highbrowed
  1. intellectual
  2. cerebral
  3. cultured
Adjective
  • There is an intellectual curiosity and a real competitiveness.
    — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Nerdy, overweight, and hyper-intellectual, Oscar never seems to fit in with his peers and is unlucky in love.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of intellectual
Adjective
  • This becomes clear when, moving on from ephemera, the exhibit turns cerebral.
    — J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The ten 8-10’ stand-alone episodes use cerebral, high-concept horror to tell stories about African women who triumph, overcome and subvert in surprising ways.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of cerebral
Adjective
  • Too obviously the gift of someone trying to seem casually cultured?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • As the war wound down, Olivier was becoming more obsessed with directing, often counting on Leigh as his cultured, measured adviser.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of cultured
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

highbrow
highbrowed
highbrowism
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Highbrowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highbrowed. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All