philistines

Definition of philistinesnext
plural of philistine
as in materialists
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for philistines
Noun
  • Performances and stunts are delivered by international acrobats and clowns during music and light shows.
    Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
  • How did clowns become a protest symbol?
    Janet W. Lee, NPR, 5 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Later, at the high-end Ned’s Club, venture capitalists rubbed shoulders with defense officials.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
  • As depicted in the play, the Lehman family had its high achievers and its dreamers, its capitalists and its liberals.
    Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The city might be hospitable because humans have reduced the numbers of predators like rats and cats around restaurants and buildings.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Corrigan has personally seen evidence of rats surviving even the grisliest encounters with traps, as well as videos of rats pushing metal bars off their necks and surviving for months after losing limbs to traps.
    Jason Bittel, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
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.

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“Philistines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philistines. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

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