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

He needs to come down from his ivory tower and listen to people.

From The Daily Beast

The review in question is “A Tocqueville for Today,” written by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, two ivory tower heavyweights.

From The Daily Beast

Convincing the Ivory Tower decision-makers may take quite an effort if they choose to share TV revenues.

From The Daily Beast

Our paralysis amidst this paradox is not helped by the way it has taken hold inside the ivory tower itself.

From The Daily Beast

He takes on higher education in his new documentary, Ivory Tower, which premiered at Sundance.

From The Daily Beast

The vein holds from beginning to end of his work; from this writing of the eighties to "The Ivory Tower."

From Project Gutenberg

"The Ivory Tower," full of accumulated perceptions, swift illuminating phrases, perhaps part of a masterpiece.

From Project Gutenberg

He sought a refuge from his sufferings in his own ivory tower; these sufferings themselves were to him a source of observations.

From Project Gutenberg

Our only refuge was the ivory tower of the poets whither we climbed higher and higher to escape the crowd.

From Project Gutenberg

All life has streamed into your soul, and you have lived in the ivory tower.

From Project Gutenberg