philistine
[ fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen ]
/ ˈfɪl əˌstin, -ˌstaɪn, fɪˈlɪs tɪn, -tin /
noun
(sometimes initial capital letter)
a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.
(initial capital letter)
a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.
adjective
(sometimes initial capital letter)
lacking in or hostile to culture.
smugly commonplace or conventional.
(initial capital letter)
of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.
Origin of philistine
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin
Philistīnī (plural) < Late Greek
Philistînoi < Hebrew
pəlishtīm
OTHER WORDS FROM philistine
phil·is·tin·ism [fil-uh-stee-niz-uhm, -stahy-, fi-lis-tuh-niz-uhm, -tee-] /ˈfɪl ə stiˌnɪz əm, -staɪ-, fɪˈlɪs təˌnɪz əm, -ti-/, nounWords nearby philistine
philippopolis,
philippus,
philips,
philistia,
philistian,
philistine,
philistines,
phillip,
phillips,
phillips catheter,
phillips curve
Example sentences from the Web for philistine
British Dictionary definitions for philistine
Philistine
/ (ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn) /
noun
a person who is unreceptive to or hostile towards culture, the arts, etc; a smug boorish person
a member of the non-Semitic people who inhabited ancient Philistia
adjective
(sometimes not capital)
boorishly uncultured
of or relating to the ancient Philistines