Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who is uninterested in or hostile towards intellectual pursuits: An "anti-intellectual" is someone who dismisses, dislikes, or is indifferent to intellectual activities, ideas, and culture.

2. Adjective:

   • Characterized by a smug, ignorant, and indifferent or hostile attitude towards artistic and cultural values: Describes a mindset, attitude, or policy that is against intellectualism, often valuing practical or populist concerns over scholarly, artistic, or cultural ones.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He dismissed the professor's theories as useless, revealing himself to be an anti-intellectual.
  • The movement was criticized for appealing to anti-intellectuals who distrusted experts.

• Adjective:

  • The politician's anti-intellectual rhetoric appealed to voters who were tired of elite jargon.
  • The government's anti-intellectual policies led to severe cuts in funding for the arts and humanities.

Advanced Usage

• As a social or political label: The term is often used critically to describe a trend, sentiment, or group within society that devalues expertise, science, and high culture.

  • The debate was marked by a worrying anti-intellectual streak, with facts being dismissed as opinions.

• Historical context: Can describe specific periods or movements where intellectual inquiry was suppressed or scorned.

  • The regime's anti-intellectual campaign targeted universities and independent thinkers.

Variants and Related Words

• Anti-intellectualism (n): The ideology or practice of being hostile or indifferent to intellectual pursuits and cultural refinement.
  • The rise of anti-intellectualism in public discourse is a concern for educators.

Synonyms

• Noun: Philistine, lowbrow, know-nothing.
• Adjective: Philistine, anti-academic, anti-culture, obscurantist.

Antonyms

• Noun: Intellectual, scholar, highbrow, aesthete.
• Adjective: Intellectual, cultured, scholarly, erudite.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To have a philistine attitude: Similar to being anti-intellectual, showing contempt for or lack of understanding of cultural and artistic values.
  • His refusal to visit the museum showed a truly philistine attitude.

Noun

1. a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

Adjective

1. smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values