intellectual 1 of 2

adjective

ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl How to pronounce intellectual (audio)
Definition of intellectualnext
1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people

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2
as in mental
of or relating to the mind intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations

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intellectual

2 of 2

noun

as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability

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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 intellectual
Adjective
There is an intellectual curiosity and a real competitiveness. — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026 The result is a movie of dazzling conundrums and vertiginous paradoxes, leading Fielder ever deeper into emotional and intellectual wilds. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
The problem was that Graziella's daughter, a renowned psychologist and Columbia professor, had overlooked the innate in favor of the intellectual. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 There are some politics in Hard Labor, but seasoned with the irony of the worker, rather than the idealism of the intellectual. — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
  1. cerebral
  2. mental
  3. educational
  4. nerd
  5. academic
  6. internal
  7. scholarly
  8. highbrow
Adjective
  • But Blade Runner isn’t just known for cerebral questions about existence and purpose, it’s also known for breaking visual ground.
    — Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026
  • This becomes clear when, moving on from ephemera, the exhibit turns cerebral.
    — J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of cerebral
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
  • Prior to her new role, DeGregorio served as senior vice president, managing director of sales for educational/informational programming for HMPG since 2022.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Courses will focus on teaching methods, instructional development and educational research.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of educational
Noun
  • On Monday morning, the world's econ nerds tuned in to an announcement from Sweden to learn who won this year's Nobel Prize in economics.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The problem is when the self-importance of festival political activism crosses wires with these horror nerds.
    — Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of nerd
Adjective
  • The experts, who had all studied AI in academic settings, all brought up the ironies of the automation problem, where AI makes errors that humans can’t catch.
    — Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
  • His main issues are declining enrollment, academic struggles, teacher turnover and family engagement.
    — Sophia Veneziano, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of academic
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
  • If the source is a scholarly journal article, the article’s title appears in a larger font above the additional bibliographic information.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Generating scholarly tomes at a rate of more than one a year involves obsessive amounts of research.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of scholarly
Noun
  • Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Richie Grainge herself has evolved her stylistic approach from an ostentatious Los Angeleno verve into a look that’s more low-key highbrow.
    — Nick Remsen, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
Definition of highbrow

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intellects
intellectual
intellectualism
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Cite this Entry

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

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