as in vulgar
lacking in refinement or good taste
at office gatherings his lowbrow humor often embarrassed his coworkers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in philistine
a person who is chiefly interested in material comfort and is hostile or indifferent to art and culture
the town's lowbrows think that the school's music program is a complete waste of taxpayers' money
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lowbrow
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
His work embodies highbrow and lowbrow materials through a time in the 20th century when architecture was trending hard toward highbrow minimalism.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026
Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
That balance of high- and lowbrow is absent in The Abandons.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lowbrow
Adjective
One of the most interesting things about the movie is the way Demme alternates between the more obvious, lowbrow gangster humor and the quiet, incredibly powerful moments between Pfeiffer and Modine that sneak up on the viewer.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
His work embodies highbrow and lowbrow materials through a time in the 20th century when architecture was trending hard toward highbrow minimalism.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026
Noun
Executives at NBCUniversal frame Bravo as a brand that represents a particular type of lowbrow-highbrow reality TV, and that even if the channel vanished, the brand could live on.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
That balance of high- and lowbrow is absent in The Abandons.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lowbrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lowbrow
Adjective
-
This isn’t about the vulgar prices now being charged to get into the building and Celebrity Row.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
-
But this original iteration of Call Her Daddy was vulgar, transgressive, and short-lived.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Hints at the canonical Big Daddies of existential clown float through the air — Beckett would recognize this pair, and so would Jean Genet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
14 June 2026
-
The comments section is filled with college football fans from all over the country calling the university's athletic department a bunch of clowns and hypocrites, but one Big 12 rival, the TCU Horned Frogs, put out a statement of their own in response to Tech's video.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
Boys and young men have always enjoyed the crassest of humor.—
Donie O'Sullivan,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
-
Materazzi said something crass about Zidane’s sister and suddenly had a bald head in his chest.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
That seems a pretty rude thing to write in the newspaper.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
-
Brock isn’t being rude — far from it.—
Rachel Brodsky,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier this year, Cagle told the city council that around half of all bus and light rail riders are not paying their fares, with rail evasion the most common occurrence.—
DJ Simmons,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2026
-
One of the world’s most durable and amicable alliances — born of geography, heritage and centuries of common interests — is broken, as seen in several recent examples of tension between leaders.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion.—
Joseph Wilson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
Hair loss is self-explanatory, while dryness results from damage to the outer layer of the cuticle, leading to moisture loss and hair that feels coarse and appears dull.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sacramento County jail records Saturday morning showed Merritt was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run resulting in death or permanent serious injury, felony vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and misdemeanor driving without a valid license.—
Michael McGough,
Sacbee.com,
13 June 2026
-
The burst of activity marks a shift from Swift’s more deliberate public strategy over the past 18 months, following the record-shattering Eras Tour, which remains the only concert tour in history to gross $2 billion.—
Antonio Ferme,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lowbrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lowbrow. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
