cerebral

adjective

sə-ˈrē-brəl How to pronounce cerebral (audio)
Definition of cerebralnext
1
as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking a very cerebral jurist who has given much thought to what makes our nation's constitution work

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mental
of or relating to the mind a young man given more to cerebral pursuits than to sporting activities

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cerebral The child developed spastic cerebral palsy and was believed to have cerebral visual impairment. — Inaya Folarin Iman, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 With both of these planets transiting Air signs, there is a cerebral side to this alignment, presenting the opportunity to channel feelings of restlessness into something resourceful. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026 When he was hired in January, the prevailing thought was that the cerebral partnership between McDaniel and Herbert would prove a perfect match. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Yet despite the technical wizardry—dry-aging, fermentation, curing, meticulous butchery—the dishes never feel overly cerebral. — Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cerebral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cerebral
  1. intellectual
  2. mental
  3. internal
  4. inner
  5. interior
  6. psychological
Adjective
  • Plath is shown not as a passive victim of despair, but as a brilliant intellectual and visionary poet.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In the process, Hall, Woodford, and other scholars helped breathe new life into the ideas of economics giant John Maynard Keynes, whose intellectual legacy, for a time, seemed in danger of melting away.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of intellectual
Adjective
  • Women naturally store less creatine than men, and during perimenopause and menopause, declining estrogen can take a toll on both muscle health and mental clarity.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Steeped in therapy culture and financial literacy content, young Americans are fluent in boundary-setting and open to frank conversations about money and mental load.
    — Grace Kelleher, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mental
Adjective
  • State attorneys general alleged that Meta covered up internal studies on the impact of Instagram on teenagers’ mental health.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • An internal investigation found children between the ages of 13 and 15 appeared in 112,000 TikTok Live videos in January 2022 alone, according to employees' testimony in the March court filings.
    — Katie McQue, NPR, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of internal
Adjective
  • In Whalefall, Abrams screams and thrashes with the same vulnerability, and a few more inner demons.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Engage in activities that bring you joy or reconnect with your inner child.
    — Parents, Parents, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of inner
Adjective
  • That ethos extends to the layout, with a seamless flow between the interior and exterior living spaces.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The rest of the UltraSlim, including the compressor, condenser, and nearly all the interior components, sit outside the window.
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of interior
Adjective
  • At Garth Greenan, where more than forty of Drexler’s paintings and drawings from the sixties were on display, I was struck, once again, by the astonishing freshness and psychological bite of her work.
    — Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Safety by default standards also place limits on the manipulation, algorithmic restraint and other addictive mechanisms that may lead to psychological harm in vulnerable populations such as young people.
    — Ari Lightman, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of psychological

Browse Nearby Words

ceramics
cerebral
cerebral palsy
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Cite this Entry

“Cerebral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cerebral. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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