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Keep "philistines" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
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Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
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3 total sentences available.
And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father, Abraham, had digged, and which, after his death, the Philistines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names, by which his father before had called them.
Source: tatoeba (7867899)
And when Pharaoh had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near; thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt.But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
Source: tatoeba (8036458)
The Philistines were one of the Sea Peoples attested by Ancient Egypt, and came to settle on the western coast of what would eventually become known as Palestine.
Source: tatoeba (12752335)
Closest matches include ancient population, antiintellectual, boor, coastal inhabitants, ignoramus.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.