narrow-minded

adjective

ˈner-(ˌ)ō-ˈmīn-dəd How to pronounce narrow-minded (audio)
Definition of narrow-mindednext
1
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints it took a while for some of the more narrow-minded members of management to be persuaded to modernize the dress code

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions narrow-minded people who instinctively feared and shunned those from different cultures

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of narrow-minded This wicker man becomes a devoted partner, sparking jealousy and malice in her narrow-minded neighbors, exploring themes of love, cruelty, and societal conformity. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026 However, such an observation is short-sighted and narrow-minded. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026 Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025 Knowledge-wise, science may be advancing, but, politically, its powers of persuasion are in retreat, in a moment defined, in many ways, by ignorance and narrow-minded grievance. — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for narrow-minded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrow-minded
  1. narrow
  2. parochial
  3. bigoted
  4. small
  5. provincial
  6. petty
  7. intolerant
  8. insular
Adjective
  • But do such experiences meet the narrow definition of attachment?
    — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026
  • When the pollsters gave likely voters additional, critical information about both candidates, Bass shot up by 5 points and took a narrow lead over Raman, 40% to 39%, with 21% undecided, according to FM3.
    — James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of narrow
Adjective
  • Since 2015, a flurry of cases has decided issues as parochial as how much individual athletes are paid out of broadcast revenues and how long student athletes are eligible to play.
    — Sen. Rand Paul OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Back then the age of discovery was at its peak, and startling new information about what had previously been a very parochial planet was flooding into the academies of Europe and the Americas.
    — Ian Tattersall, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of parochial
Adjective
  • The killing, often deliberate, of more than twenty thousand children in Gaza injured consciences, not purses, and consciences could be managed with some ritual censuring of Benjamin Netanyahu or his proudly bigoted colleagues.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Over the five hours that follow, the series tracks what led to the tragedy — specifically, his complicated relationship with his resentful, bigoted next-door neighbor, Clive (David Morrissey).
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of bigoted
Adjective
  • Only about a dozen countries have active programs, including small Caribbean island states.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The treasurer’s office says the administrative cost of processing very small payments can exceed their value.
    — Mark Lewyn, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of small
Adjective
  • The government had spent the better part of a year, for instance, decentralizing its political and military bureaucracy so that provincial governors and military commanders could operate without instructions from top leaders.
    — Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Mamdani and Chow swapped notes on dealing with the constraints placed on them by their state and provincial governors, and on their respective battles over renters’ rights and the high costs of living in their cities.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of provincial
Adjective
  • Stanley’s co-defendant, unsuccessful county commissioner candidate and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver Heather Morrow, was found guilty of the petty offenses and the misdemeanor assault charge.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Letts makes the most of his brief screen time as a manipulator whose petty genius lies in creating an artificial scarcity for his affections.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Law student Gemma Jay (Abbie Hern), recruited by the nonsense-intolerant Coach Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds), also joins the squad.
    — Erin Jensen, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The association naturally angered the intolerant left, including one X user whose response has since gone viral.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of intolerant
Adjective
  • That rarely happens with Idaho’s insular faith-healing communities.
    — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is designed as an action flick as well as a portrait of a family dealing with tragedy and an insider’s look at an insular community that mocks harmful stereotypes without perpetrating them.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of insular

Browse Nearby Words

narrowly
narrow-minded
narrow-mindedness
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Cite this Entry

“Narrow-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/narrow-minded. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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