anti-intellectualism

[an-tee-in-tl-ek-choo-uh-liz-uhm, an-tahy‑]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

opposition to or hostility toward intellectuals and the modern academic, artistic, social, religious, and other theories associated with them.
These “denial” movements are manifestations of a growing anti-intellectualism arising against science and scientists.
the belief or doctrine that intellect and reason are less important than actions and emotions in solving practical problems and understanding reality.
Much of the country’s cultural history reflects a swinging back and forth between collective action and a rugged individualism based on anti-intellectualism.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of anti-intellectualism¹

anti- ( def. ) + intellectualism

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"How long have we had this knee-jerk anti-intellectualism? Why are we so obsessed with the illusion of perfection? I just kept pulling on that thread and it took me all the way back to the 1620s."

From

How long have we had this knee-jerk anti-intellectualism?

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Third is "knee-jerk anti-authoritarianism and anti-intellectualism."

From

Every historical trait of American populism — its anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, distrust of expertise, hatred of so-called elites, rural and small-town mythologizing, suspicion of institutions, paranoid-conspiratorial world view, unfocused anger and faith in panaceas — fits the psychology of the current Republican base like a glove, at least when its characteristics are adapted to the schizophrenic quality of contemporary American culture.

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Decades of anti-Washington bombast, denunciations of expertise in favor of “common-sense solutions,” anti-intellectualism and faith in tough-guy bromides, à la “Dirty Harry,” have brought us to a disaster that causes intelligent foreigners to blink with astonishment.

From

anti-intellectual antiknock

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