ivory tower

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.

ivory tower

/ ˈtaʊə /

noun

1. 1. seclusion or remoteness of attitude regarding real problems, everyday life, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      ivory-tower aestheticism

Derived Forms

• ˌivory-ˈtowered, adjective

Other Words From

• ivo·ry-towered ivo·ry-tower·ish adjective
• ivo·ry-tower·ism ivo·rytower·ish·ness noun
• ivo·ry-tower·ist ivo·ry-tower·ite noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ivory tower¹

Translation of French tour d'ivoire, phrase used by C.A. Sainte-Beuve in reference to the isolated life of the poet A. de Vigny (1837)

Idioms and Phrases

A place or attitude of retreat, remoteness from everyday affairs, as in What does the professor know about student life, living as he does in an ivory tower? This term is a translation of the French tour d'ivoire , which the critic Saint-Beuve used to describe the attitude of poet Alfred de Vigny in 1837. It is used most often in reference to intellectuals and artists who remain complacently aloof.

Example Sentences

Ani is as enchanted by Ivan’s hyperactive obsession with her as she is his massive home, which soon becomes her big, ugly Brighton Beach ivory tower when Ivan offers to pay for an entire week of the girlfriend experience.

From Salon

The professor in the ivory tower reminds us that words retain meaning.

From Los Angeles Times

“I do not paint inside an ivory tower. I speak of the society around me in my work.”

From BBC

Cop unions were, predictably, furious; one leader accused Harris of being in an “ivory tower” and having “no clue to the reality of the street.”

From Slate

For many outside the ivory tower, it was clear university leaders needed to do something to quell the chaos surrounding pro-Palestinian encampments on their campuses.

From Salon