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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in materialistic
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
3
as in uncultured
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of philistine
Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
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
Adjective
But philistine incomprehension never deterred Stein.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
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
-
This iconic piece of outerwear is practically synonymous with French culture, despite its utilitarian origins.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Light-blocking curtains can easily look utilitarian or heavy in an otherwise airy and bright living room.—
Kelly Dawson,
Architectural Digest,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The pursuit of happiness, both materialistic and spiritual, is a recurring theme in my feature films.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
19 Jan. 2026
-
More involved in things that aren’t materialistic.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The brand has come to signify rugged, often uncultured New York grit, its actual working-class relevance and celebration in seminal rap lyrics feeding internet snarkers’ stereotypes of city dwellers.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
21 Jan. 2026
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Just the opposite: The slipup shows how culture pervades even my uncultured moments.—
Harmon Siegel,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Executives at NBCUniversal frame Bravo as a brand that represents a particular type of lowbrow-highbrow reality TV, and that even if the channel vanished, the brand could live on.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
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That balance of high- and lowbrow is absent in The Abandons.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Minnesota was pragmatic and defensive under Ramsay, which is not the best tactical fit for the Colombian.—
Tom Bogert,
New York Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
With a sharp feel for political arithmetic and a slightly geeky approach to strategy, Hill-Lewis has cultivated constructive relationships with key figures in the ANC leadership, helped along by a personable, pragmatic style that plays well across party lines.—
Sam Mkokeli,
semafor.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Harlan has an avaricious family, each member of which has something to gain from his death.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
What Netanyahu wants is not this peace deal or avaricious annexations, but to stay in power.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
By contrast, Erika is a vamp, a woman whose wardrobe encompasses high fashion and BDSM — maybe this is what makes Erika choose him to be her assistant, just as her icy, dominatrix cool appeals to the refreshingly artless Elliot.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Atop a tower near Bryant Park, reachable by two service-elevator rides and down a concrete hallway, his temporary workspace is, apart from his own presence, pretty artless.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
23 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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However, the expert warned that focusing on combat performance could push robot development away from typical industrial or service uses, because fighting requires extreme, short bursts of high-impact movement rather than steady, practical operation.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Daytrip Snack Boxes and the LoadOut GoBox are durable, practical upgrades for lunches, beach days, poolside drinks and gear storage.—
Avery Newmark,
AJC.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Philistine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistine. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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