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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

lowbrow en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /ˈloʊbɹaʊ/ (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈləʊbɹaʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

A bahuvrihi compound of low + brow. An Americanism whose first use appears c. 1902. Refers to the (by that time discredited) pseudoscience of phrenology, which suggested that a person of low intelligence and sophistication would possess a lower brow-line than someone of greater intelligence and sophistication.

Meanings

  1. Unsophisticated, not intended for an audience of intelligence, education or culture.
    • The Three Stooges are known for their lowbrow slapstick humor consisting of foolish action for the masses.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most lowbrow Degree=Sup lexicographic
low-brow alternative lexicographic
more lowbrow Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Deriveds

lowbrowism · lowbrowness

Translations (22)

fi luiskaotsainen (unsophisticated) · ru низкосо́ртный (unsophisticated) · hu alja (unsophisticated) · az bozbaş (unsophisticated) · de ungebildet (unsophisticated) · hu szofisztikálatlan (unsophisticated) · fi matalaotsainen (unsophisticated) · cs prostý (unsophisticated) · az bayağı (unsophisticated) · ru по́шлый (unsophisticated) · cs jednoduchý (unsophisticated) · az səviyyəsiz (unsophisticated) · bg просташки (unsophisticated) · de niveaulos (unsophisticated) · fr bas de plafond (unsophisticated) · ru низкопро́бный (unsophisticated) · hu szenny (unsophisticated) · hu proli (unsophisticated) · de banausisch (unsophisticated) · cs přízemní (unsophisticated) · pl niskich lotów (unsophisticated) · pl prymitywny (unsophisticated)

lowbrow en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈloʊbɹaʊ/ (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈləʊbɹaʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

A bahuvrihi compound of low + brow. An Americanism whose first use appears c. 1902. Refers to the (by that time discredited) pseudoscience of phrenology, which suggested that a person of low intelligence and sophistication would possess a lower brow-line than someone of greater intelligence and sophistication.

Meanings

  1. (countable) Someone or something of low education or culture.
  2. (uncountable) An underground populist visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s, inspired by comics, punk music, graffiti, etc.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
low-brow alternative lexicographic
lowbrows Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

highbrow

Relateds

no-brow · middlebrow · highbrow

Synonyms

idiot

Translations (6)

bg профан (Someone of low culture) · pl prymityw (Someone of low culture) · de Kulturbanause (Someone of low culture) · az qıjı (Someone of low culture) · az çuşka (Someone of low culture) · bg простак (Someone of low culture)