Definition of Ivory tower

1. Noun. A state of mind that is discussed as if it were a place. "They viewed universities as ivory towers"

Generic synonyms: Cognitive State, State Of Mind

Definition of Ivory tower

1. Noun. (idiomatic) A sheltered, overly-academic existence or perspective, implying a disconnection or lack of awareness of reality or practical considerations. ¹

2. Adjective. Seperated from reality and practical matters; overly academic. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ivory Tower

ivorist
ivorists
ivoroid
ivory
ivory-bill
ivory-billed woodpecker
ivory-bills
ivory-nut palm
ivory black
ivory exostosis
ivory gull
ivory membrane
ivory nut
ivory palm
ivory plant
ivory tower
ivory towers
ivory tree
ivory vertebra
ivorybill
ivorybills
ivorylike
ivorytype
ivorytypes
ivresse
ivresses
ivy
ivy-covered
ivy-leaf

Literary usage of Ivory tower

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Scepticisms: Notes on Contemporary Poetryby Conrad Aiken by Conrad Aiken (1919)
"... XXVIII The ivory tower: Louis Untermeyer as Critic THE critic of poetry who is also a poet is apt to be the most interesting and the most unreliable of ..."

2. Scepticisms: Notes on Contemporary Poetry by Conrad Aiken (1919)
"... XXVIII The ivory tower: Louis Untermeyer as Critic THE critic of poetry who is also a poet is apt to be the most interesting and the most unreliable of ..."

3. Letters to His Wife by Robert Ernest Vernède (1917)
"The ivory tower The Sense of the Past By HENRY JAMES. z Vols. Extra Crown gvo, with two Photogravures, us. net. " For the lover of literature, I fancy, ..."

4. Instigations of Ezra Pound: Together with an Essay on the Chinese Written by Ezra Pound, Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1920)
"(In “The ivory tower” this was to be done in three subdivisions. ... For “The ivory tower” and probably for any novel, there is now need to show clearly and ..."

5. Suspended Judgments: Essays on Books and Sensations by John Cowper Powys (1916)
"The new fashionable doctrine among the "intellectuals" is that one is to live in one's ivory tower and let the world go; live in one's ivory tower while ..."

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