Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, relating to, or held to be characteristic of a university don; bookish or pedantic. See Synonyms at pedantic.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to or characteristic of an English university don.
Wiktionary
- adj. of a person Bookish, theoretical and pedantic, as opposed to practical.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. like a university don; marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning, especially its trivial aspects.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
Etymologies
- don + -ish (Wiktionary)
Examples
“He sat in a vast arm-chair, crossed his knees, joined his hands, and with what Troy called his donnish manner, prepared to tackle Cedric.”
“It was only to those who had but few personal dealings with him that he seemed stiff and "donnish"; to his more intimate acquaintances, who really understood him, each little eccentricity of manner or of habits was a delightful addition to his charming and interesting personality.”
“I have before me a letter to one of the evening papers, written in a tone of academic sarcasm which proves that even the supercilious and "donnish" element is not lacking in Chicago culture.”
“[222] He was never a professor, but was an inspector; and, though I may be biassed, I think the inspector is usually the more "donnish" animal of the two.”
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century
“And to do this, one has to speak to its winemaker: the thoughtful, donnish 71-year-old Aubert de Villaine, who, along with his co-director Henry-Fr é d é ric Roch, has, for more than a quarter of a century, has been at the forefront of not only restoring the reputation of the wines of Domaine de la Roman é e-Conti but also of the wines of Burgundy itself.”
“Gilbert Ryle, with donnish absurdity, called God “a category mistake”.”
“Unawareness of this is common among our donnish types, however — even ones so appealing asSomin.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » The Books that Influenced Me the Most
“Ian Richards and Charles Ogden were not indulging in some donnish jeu d'esprit when they wrote their book The Meaning of Meaning, published in 1923 and never out of print since.”
“Regarded by some as Britain's foremost critics, Kermode was instrumental in the creation of the London Review of Books, and his accessibility made him a kind of bridge between the donnish world of academic literature and novels as they were read by everyday people.”
“At a little after the last minute, he havered and made himself look foolish, even donnish, itself a defeat for someone who had always soared above such stereotypes.”
The Guardian: Hugh Trevor-Roper: The Biography by Adam Sisman
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘donnish’.
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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pedantic words
Busie old foole, unruly Sunne,..Sawcy pedantique wretch, goe chide Late schooleboyes.
pedagogic, schoolmasterly, academic, bookish, donnish, dry as dust, dryasdust, pedantic, erudite, formal, inkhorn, learned and 65 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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lanklenmot's Words
ineluctable, prelapsarian, bien pensant, prospero, preternatural, gratifying, iconoclast, cineast, persnickety, tumescent, galvanize, pap and 887 more...
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La Donya Donna
bellibone, mellifluous, swarf, vim, estival, euphonious, foetus, flummox, pulchritudinous, nonpareil, titivation, veridical and 11 more...
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