Philistines
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A “philistine” has come to mean a person who is ignorant and uncultured.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After crushing a Jewish revolt in the second century, Emperor Hadrian sought to sever the Jewish connection to the land by renaming the province “Syria Palaestina”—a name derived from the long-vanished Philistines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Halfway through the movie, to ward off full-scale war with the Philistines, David volunteers to engage in single combat with the enemy’s champion: an oversize fellow named Goliath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
The impoverished Palestinian territory was an important trading post for civilisations as far back as the ancient Egyptians and the Philistines depicted in the Bible, through the Roman empire and the crusades.
From Reuters ● Jul. 24, 2023
In the book of Samuel, we hear how they faced oppression from the Philistines, one of the many Sea Peoples groups.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Refers to the Bible story in which Samson captured foxes, tied torches to their tails, and let them burn the fields of the Philistines.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
