brainiac

[ brey-nee-ak ]

noun

1. a highly intelligent person.

brainiac

/ ˈbreɪnɪˌæk /

noun

1. informal.
   a highly intelligent person

Word History and Origins

Origin of brainiac¹

From Brainiac, a superintelligent, villainous alien in the Superman comics, probably brain + (man)iac

Word History and Origins

Origin of brainiac¹

C20: from a super-intelligent character in an American comic strip

Example Sentences

If you can imagine someone watching the classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch with Phil Hartman portraying Reagan as a geopolitical brainiac fronting as a bumbling optimist and taking it as gospel, you’ll have some idea of how “Reagan” comes off.

From Los Angeles Times

OK brainiac, but how do you know the right way to prepare this photon to get it to carry as much information as possible about the thing you want to measure?

From Salon

Not only is her marriage to Ethan, a tech genius whose company hit the jackpot, increasingly sexless, but the couple has been dragged on vacation to a luxurious Sicilian resort, the guests of Ethan’s college roommate, a playboy manipulator who feels entitled to plunder whatever gains his brainiac buddy has acquired.

From Los Angeles Times

Guiding his efforts in this second season, along with Owen Wilson’s Mobius, is Ke Huy Quan’s Ouroboros, the nerdy brainiac running the TVA’s Repairs and Advancement Department.

From Salon

Robert Patrick and Katharine McPhee star in CBS’ ‘Scorpion,’ which is based on the life of brainiac consultant Walter O’Brien.

From Los Angeles Times