Definition, Meaning & Synonyms
donnish
adjective
/ˈdɒn.ɪʃ/
Definition
Relating to or characteristic of a college teacher or scholar, often in an excessively scholarly or pedantic manner.
Examples
- The professor’s donnish style made his lectures both confusing and tedious.
- He had a donnish air, wearing tweed jackets and glasses perched on his nose.
- Her donnish enthusiasm for obscure historical facts often fascinated her students.
Meaning
The term describes someone, usually an academic, who displays the mannerisms or attributes typically associated with a university lecturer.
Synonyms
- academic
- pedantic
- scholarly
- bookish
- insular
