ivory tower
noun
a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs: the university as an ivory tower.
an attitude of aloofness from or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs: his ivory tower of complacency.
Origin of ivory tower
translation of French
tour d'ivoire, phrase used by C.A. Sainte-Beuve in reference to the isolated life of the poet A. de Vigny (1837)
OTHER WORDS FROM ivory tower
i·vo·ry-tow·ered, i·vo·ry-tow·er·ish, adjective i·vo·ry-tow·er·ism, i·vo·rytow·er·ish·ness, noun i·vo·ry-tow·er·ist, i·vo·ry-tow·er·ite, nounWords nearby ivory tower
ivory coast,
ivory exostosis,
ivory gull,
ivory nut,
ivory palm,
ivory tower,
ivory-billed woodpecker,
ivory-white,
ivorytype,
ivorywood,
ivr
British Dictionary definitions for ivory tower
ivory tower
/ (ˈtaʊə) /
noun
- seclusion or remoteness of attitude regarding real problems, everyday life, etc
- (as modifier)ivory-tower aestheticism
Derived forms of ivory tower
ivory-towered, adjectiveIdioms and Phrases with ivory tower
ivory tower
A place or attitude of retreat, remoteness from everyday affairs, as in What does the professor know about student life, living as he does in an ivory tower? This term is a translation of the French tour d'ivoire, which the critic Saint-Beuve used to describe the attitude of poet Alfred de Vigny in 1837. It is used most often in reference to intellectuals and artists who remain complacently aloof.