NARROW-MINDED Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

narrow-minded

adjective

ˈner-(ˌ)ō-ˈmīn-dəd

as in narrow

unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints it took a while for some of the more narrow-minded members of management to be persuaded to modernize the dress code

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in parochial

not broad or open in views or opinions narrow-minded people who instinctively feared and shunned those from different cultures

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 narrow-minded However, curiosity can interrupt that narrow-minded thinking, according to Maya Nehru, MA, LMFT, a psychotherapist offering services in anxiety and trauma in San Diego and Washington. —

Jenna Ryu, SELF, 25 Mar. 2026 This is a valid concern, which is why the solution must be comprehensive, not narrow-minded. —

Jerry Presley, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026 This wicker man becomes a devoted partner, sparking jealousy and malice in her narrow-minded neighbors, exploring themes of love, cruelty, and societal conformity. —

Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026 However, such an observation is short-sighted and narrow-minded. —

Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026 Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall. —

Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025 The deficient vice of being open-minded is being narrow-minded. —

Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 Knowledge-wise, science may be advancing, but, politically, its powers of persuasion are in retreat, in a moment defined, in many ways, by ignorance and narrow-minded grievance. —

Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrow-minded

Adjective

The narrow win pushed Morocco into first place in Group C, all but securing a spot in the knockout rounds for the 2022 World Cup semifinalists.

— Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 20 June 2026
Just outside downtown, this narrow stretch of former warehouses is now lined with markets, mom-and-pop shops and restaurants that spill onto the sidewalks all summer long.

— Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 19 June 2026