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

The researchers prompted four AI image generators for modern, portrait-style photographs of chemists in industry or academic occupations.

From Science Daily

But the industry has been left scrambling again, with only a few months left until the 2025 academic year begins.

From BBC

Over 100 Australian academics have criticised the ban as "too blunt an instrument" and argued that it goes against UN advice which calls on governments to ensure young people have “safe access” to digital environments.

From BBC

Ms Longfield says a “culture of exclusions” over the last decade has been driven by an “emphasis on academic achievement and grades”.

From BBC

In a preprint published earlier this year, Pennsylvania State University data scientist Sarah Rajtmajer and her colleagues followed more than 7500 academics who used Mastodon from just after Musk acquired Twitter until 1 year later.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• collegiate
• intellectual
• scholarly
• scholastic