middlebrow
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈmɪdəlˌbraʊ/
- Literature
:
mediocre
- Many people appreciate middlebrow entertainment because it offers a balance between high culture and mainstream appeal.
- ethnographic middlebrow
Examples
-
These magazines appealed to progressive, aspirational readers who can be tentatively associated with the middlebrow.
Academic text (2014) -
In a media-driven world dominated by loud, middlebrow pundits arguing with each other over very little, a scholar who calmly stands as an authority, who brings rich data to the table, and who thinks and writes in a way that intelligent general readers can understand is always welcome.
Academic text (2006) -
The effects of such exposure were reinforced by the wider influence of what I call the "middlebrow moment" in American culture.
Academic text (2010) -
Man, is there anything more essentially middlebrow than a bunch of educated people moaning about US public education?
Blog text (13) -
Why, then, was he put on the cover of a newsmagazine written for a mass audience of middlebrows?
Academic text (2010) -
Considering the book's middlebrow appeal, though, it is hard to imagine that Zhu Zhifan would have wished his name to be associated with the album.
Academic text (2015) -
The middlebrow art exhibition showcased pieces that were accessible yet intellectually engaging, drawing a diverse crowd.
-
Critics often debate the value of middlebrow literature, arguing that it can both reflect and shape popular tastes.
Antonyms
How Intellectual
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Middlebrow is a simple blend of middle and brow, where brow means 'forehead' and was used in words like highbrow to suggest being very intellectual and lowbrow to suggest the opposite. So a middlebrow person has tastes 'in the middle', not very highbrow and not very lowbrow.