academic

[ ak-uh-dem-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a college, academy, school, or other educational institution:

   academic requirements.

2. pertaining to areas of study that are not primarily vocational or applied, as the humanities or pure mathematics.

   Synonyms: liberal, humanist

3. theoretical or hypothetical; not practical, realistic, or directly useful:

   an academic question;

   an academic discussion of a matter already decided.

4. learned or scholarly but lacking in worldliness, common sense, or practicality.

   Synonyms: theoretical

5. conforming to set rules, standards, or traditions; conventional:

   academic painting.

6. acquired by formal education, especially at a college or university:

   academic preparation for the ministry.

7. Academic, of or relating to Academe or to the Platonic school of philosophy.

noun

1. a student or teacher at a college or university.
2. a person who is academic in background, attitudes, methods, etc.:

   He was by temperament an academic, concerned with books and the arts.

3. Academic, a person who supports or advocates the Platonic school of philosophy.
4. academics, the scholarly activities of a school or university, as classroom studies or research projects:

   more emphasis on academics and less on athletics.

academic

/ ˌækəˈdɛmɪk /

adjective

1. belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy
2. of purely theoretical or speculative interest

   an academic argument

3. excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs
4. (esp of a schoolchild) having an aptitude for study
5. conforming to set rules and traditions; conventional

   an academic painter

6. relating to studies such as languages, philosophy, and pure science, rather than applied, technical, or professional studies

noun

1. a member of a college or university

Derived Forms

• ˌacaˈdemically, adverb

Other Words From

• an·ti·ac·a·dem·ic adjective noun
• in·ter·ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• non·ac·a·dem·ic adjective noun
• pro·ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• pseu·do·ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• qua·si-ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• sem·i·ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• sub·ac·a·dem·ic adjective
• un·ac·a·dem·ic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of academic¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Acadēmicus, from Greek Akadēmeikós. See academy, academe, -ic

Synonym Study

See formal.

Example Sentences

None of the academic and security experts I spoke with knew how to answer this.

From Salon

Preliminary estimates for this academic year indicate campuses enrolled an additional 3,000 students, boosting the total number of California undergraduates to more than 206,000, the most in UC history.

From Los Angeles Times

Academic Senate Chair Steven W. Cheung said the outcome has raised myriad questions for UC — whether funding for financial aid will be slashed, fragile gains in racial and gender equity undone, clean energy and fetal stem cell research buried and access to health care lost.

From Los Angeles Times

The University of California wants to enroll nearly 3,600 more California students in the next academic year but is bracing for a looming budget crunch that could make it difficult to pay for increased enrollment.

From Los Angeles Times

The number of students taking T-levels has increased each year, and there were 16,085 entrants in the 2023-24 academic year.

From BBC

Related Words

• collegiate
• intellectual
• scholarly
• scholastic