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An ivory tower is a metaphorical place—or an atmosphere—where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world in favor of their own pursuits, usually mental and esoteric ones. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life. [1]
The meaning of IVORY TOWER is an impractical often escapist attitude marked by aloof lack of concern with or interest in practical matters or urgent problems. How to use ivory tower in a sentence.
What's the origin of the phrase 'Ivory tower'? The first mention of ivory towers is in the Bible, Song of Solomon 7:4 ( King James Version ): Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
Ivory tower definition: a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs. See examples of IVORY TOWER used in a sentence.
To live or be in an ivory tower is not to know about or to want to avoid the ordinary and unpleasant things that happen in people's lives: Academics sitting in ivory towers have no understanding of what is important for ordinary people .
Britannica Dictionary definition of IVORY TOWER. [count] disapproving. : a place or situation in which people make and discuss theories about problems (such as poverty and racism) without having any experience with those problems.
Aug 9, 2017 · The phrase ivory tower denotes a state of privileged seclusion or separation from the facts and practicalities of the real world. This phrase is a loan translation from French tour d’ivoire.
An ivory tower is a place — or an atmosphere — where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world. It's common to talk about colleges and universities as intellectual ivory towers. If you're in an ivory tower, you live in a world of ideas separate from the realities of most people's lives.
ivory tower. noun. /ˌaɪvəri ˈtaʊə (r)/. /ˌaɪvəri ˈtaʊər/. (disapproving) a place or situation where you are separated from the problems and practical aspects of normal life and therefore do not have to worry about or understand them. academics living in ivory towers. Word Origin.
Jun 6, 2024 · ivory tower in American English. noun. 1. a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs. the university as an ivory tower. 2. an attitude of aloofness from or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs. his ivory tower of complacency.
