Antonyms for ivory-tower

Grammar : Adj, noun

Definition of ivory-tower

Origin : as a symbol of artistic or intellectual aloofness, by 1889, from French tour d'ivoire, used in 1837 by critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) with reference to the poet Alfred de Vigny, whom he accused of excessive aloofness.
Et Vigny, plus secret, comme en sa tour d'ivoire, avant midi rentrait. [Sainte-Beuve, "Pensées d'Août, à M. Villemain," 1837]
Used earlier as a type of a wonder or a symbol of "the ideal." The literal image is perhaps from Song of Solomon [vii:4]:
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. [KJV]

As in starry-eyed : adj unrealistic
As in unrealistic : adj not believable or practical
As in impractical : adj unrealistic
As in unnegotiable : adj impracticable
As in unusable : adj impracticable
As in unworkable : adj impracticable
As in ideal : adj conceptual; impractical
As in impractical/impracticable : adj unrealistic
As in ivory tower : noun place of learning

Synonyms for ivory-tower

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019