Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ordinary, practical, or utilitarian, often implying a lack of refinement or intellectual or artistic value: Used to describe work, activities, or concerns that are considered mundane, routine, or purely functional.

Usage

• The word "banausic" is a formal and somewhat rare adjective. It is typically used in a critical or dismissive way to describe things perceived as being concerned only with practical or material matters, lacking in higher cultural, spiritual, or intellectual qualities. It often carries a connotation of being unrefined or philistine.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • He felt contempt for all banausic occupations.
  • The philosopher criticized the banausic pursuits of modern consumer society.
  • She sought a life of artistic creation, free from banausic worries.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used in sociological or philosophical discussions to contrast practical, everyday labor with intellectual or artistic endeavors.
  • The debate centered on whether education should serve banausic skills or cultivate the mind.

Variants and Related Words

• Banausically (adverb): In a banausic manner.
  • He approached the task banausically, focusing only on its utility.

Synonyms

• Mundane
• Utilitarian
• Prosaic
• Workaday
• Philistine (when referring to attitudes)

Antonyms

• Refined
• Intellectual
• Artistic
• Cultivated
• Aesthetic

Adjective

1. (formal) ordinary and not refined
   • he felt contempt for all banausic occupations