donnish

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.

During a long, donnish life he also found time to co-write the only dictionary for Krio, the lingua franca of Sierra Leone.

From Economist • Feb. 1, 2018

Simons has retained a donnish air from his days as a lecturer.

From The Guardian • Nov. 7, 2017

He still fires up the forge now and then, either to do donnish demonstrations for new hires or to make things: door hinges, fireplace sets, a shovel for his son’s pizza oven.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 12, 2016

In fact, this biography reads like two books: one an intelligent, even donnish work of criticism that connects the poems to the life, the other a sensationalistic anthology of gossip and subdued malice.

From Washington Post • Oct. 6, 2015

I have before me a letter to one of the evening papers, written in a tone of academic sarcasm which proves that even the supercilious and "donnish" element is not lacking in Chicago culture.

From America To-day, Observations and Reflections by Archer, William