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lowbrow
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: low-brow
English
Alternative forms
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.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈloʊbɹaʊ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈləʊbɹaʊ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
lowbrow (comparative more lowbrow, superlative most lowbrow)
- 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.
Derived terms
Translations
unsophisticated
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Noun
lowbrow (countable and uncountable, plural lowbrows)
- (countable) Someone or something of low education or culture.
- (uncountable, art) An underground populist visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s, inspired by comics, punk music, graffiti, etc.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:idiot
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
References
- ESC, 2003. Re:highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow, The Phrase finder.
- Robert Hendrickson, 1997. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (New York: Facts on File)
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