highbrow taste
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈhaɪˌbraʊ teɪst/
:
gusto refinado
- His highbrow tastes often make him seem pretentious.
You know, you obviously are an aesthete, you know, with highbrow tastes.
- You know, you obviously are an aesthete, you know, with highbrow tastes.
Examples
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He was known for his highbrow taste in literature, often reading obscure classics.
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Her highbrow taste in art made the gallery's modernist collection her favorite.
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The restaurant caters to those with a highbrow taste for gourmet cuisine.
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She has a distinct highbrow taste in literature.
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Her highbrow taste in art led her to frequent galleries showcasing contemporary masterpieces.
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His highbrow taste clearly showed when he chose classical music over pop for the party.
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They were impressed by her highbrow taste in literature, often discussing classic novels and poetry.
Synonyms
4
5.5
Skill in choosing and enjoying very beautiful or high quality things like art
Antonyms
How Refined
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the adjective 'highbrow' (refined, intellectual) with 'taste' (preference), so the meaning—a preference for culturally sophisticated or intellectual things—is directly inferable from the parts. This simple adjective + noun compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand it.
Etymology
Highbrow taste may come from an old idea that people with a high brow, meaning a tall forehead, were thought to be clever. That's why 'highbrow taste' now means a liking for things seen as 'intellectual' or 'cultured'.