snobbism
Looking down haughtily
Snobbism is the attitude or behavior of a snob—looking down on those perceived as inferior in taste, intellect, or social standing.
The word carries a slightly clinical or analytical tone, as if diagnosing a condition: His snobbism about wine made dinner parties tedious.
More common alternatives are snobbery and snobbishness.
Disdainful sense of superiority
- superciliousnessScornful sense of superiority
- pretentiousnessShowy self-importance
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
- disdainScornful disregard
condescension · superiority · smugness · self-importance · pompousness · vanity · aloofness · contempt
Rule by hereditary elite
- upper-classSocially and economically privileged
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- bluebloodPerson of noble birth
- nobilityTitled ruling class
gentry · patrician · privilege · caste · ivory-tower · establishment · intelligentsia · cognoscenti
Exclusive group behavior
- in-crowdFashionable exclusive group
- members-onlyRestricted to enrolled participants
- blackballingGroup exclusion practice
- selectivenessCareful choosing quality
closed-door · VIP · restricted · networking
Expressing scorn facially
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- nose-in-the-airDisplaying arrogant superiority
- scoffingMocking with contempt
- snubbingPointedly ignoring someone
cold-shoulder · name-dropping · gatekeeping · eye-rolling · dismissing · mocking · belittling · excluding
Intellectually or artistically sophisticated
- philistinismContempt for cultural refinement
- middlebrowAverage cultural taste
- lowbrowLacking intellectual depth
- connoisseurExpert in matters of taste
dilettante · aesthete · tastemaker · cultured · uncultured · foodie · cinephile · bibliophile
haughtiness
Disdainful sense of superiority
- superciliousnessScornful sense of superiority
- pretentiousnessShowy self-importance
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
disdain · condescension · superiority · smugness · self-importance · pompousness · vanity · aloofness · contempt · affectation
aristocracy
Rule by hereditary elite
- upper-classSocially and economically privileged
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- bluebloodPerson of noble birth
nobility · gentry · patrician · privilege · caste · ivory-tower · establishment · intelligentsia · cognoscenti · literati
cliquishness
Exclusive group behavior
- in-crowdFashionable exclusive group
- members-onlyRestricted to enrolled participants
- blackballingGroup exclusion practice
selectiveness · closed-door · VIP · restricted · networking
sneering
Expressing scorn facially
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- nose-in-the-airDisplaying arrogant superiority
- scoffingMocking with contempt
snubbing · cold-shoulder · name-dropping · gatekeeping · eye-rolling · dismissing · mocking · belittling · excluding · one-upmanship
highbrow
Intellectually or artistically sophisticated
- philistinismContempt for cultural refinement
- middlebrowAverage cultural taste
- lowbrowLacking intellectual depth
connoisseur · dilettante · aesthete · tastemaker · cultured · uncultured · foodie · cinephile · bibliophile · parvenu
snobbismegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
humility · unpretentiousness · down-to-earthness · populism · inclusiveness
snobbismmodesty
Absence of vanity
self-effacement · humbleness · meekness · unassumingness · humility