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View synonyms for intellectual

intellectual

[ in-tl-ek-choo-uhl ]

adjective

  1. appealing to or engaging the intellect:

    intellectual pursuits.

    Synonyms: mental

  2. of or relating to the intellect or its use:

    intellectual powers.

    Synonyms: mental

  3. possessing or showing intellect or mental capacity, especially to a high degree:

    an intellectual person.

  4. guided or developed by or relying on the intellect rather than upon emotions or feelings; rational.
  5. characterized by or suggesting a predominance of intellect:

    an intellectual way of speaking.



noun

  1. a person of superior intellect.
  2. a person who places a high value on or pursues things of interest to the intellect or the more complex forms and fields of knowledge, as aesthetic or philosophical matters, especially on an abstract and general level.
  3. an extremely rational person; a person who relies on intellect rather than on emotions or feelings.
  4. a person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher.
  5. intellectuals, Archaic.
    1. the mental faculties.
    2. things pertaining to the intellect.

intellectual

/ ˌɪntɪˈlɛktʃʊəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the intellect, as opposed to the emotions
  2. appealing to or characteristic of people with a developed intellect

    intellectual literature

  3. expressing or enjoying mental activity
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. a person who enjoys mental activity and has highly developed tastes in art, literature, etc
  2. a person who uses or works with his intellect
  3. a highly intelligent person
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

intellectual

  1. A person who engages in academic study or critical evaluation of ideas and issues. ( See intelligentsia .)


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Derived Forms

  • ˌintelˌlectuˈality, noun
  • ˌintelˈlectually, adverb
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Other Words From

  • intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • intel·lectu·al·ness noun
  • half-in·tel·lectu·al adjective
  • half-in·tel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • hyper·intel·lectu·al adjective
  • hyper·intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • hyper·intel·lectu·al·ness noun
  • nonin·tel·lectu·al adjective noun
  • nonin·tel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • nonin·tel·lectu·al·ness noun
  • over·intel·lectu·al adjective
  • over·intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • over·intel·lectu·al·ness noun
  • prein·tel·lectu·al adjective
  • prein·tel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • quasi-intel·lectu·al adjective
  • quasi-intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • semi-intel·lectu·al adjective noun
  • semi-intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • super·intel·lectu·al adjective noun
  • super·intel·lectu·al·ly adverb
  • unin·tel·lectu·al adjective
  • unin·tel·lectu·al·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of intellectual1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin intellēctuālis, equivalent to intellēctu-, stem of intellēctus intellect + -ālis -al 1
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

I want them to be able to have a positive intellectual experience and be able to give some different thinking that goes along with that emotion that they feel.

From Ozy

This group of nations must have amenable regulations and trade policies to attract international investors, understandable labor laws, and clear respect for intellectual property.

From Fortune

A model can seem relatively easy to put together, so easy that it’s not even much of an intellectual challenge.

The soldiers were accused of stealing intellectual property, business plans, and negotiation strategies from companies such as Westinghouse and US Steel.

We started to build intellectual property in energy transmission generation, to look at how you could rebuild the grid—the thing that hasn’t been upgraded in 150 years.

From Fortune

Even the hot Jewish women I mentioned above did something a bit more “intellectual” than pageantry: acting.

However, intellectual honesty is the first thing to go when you are forced to constantly pander to your base.

Both impart the experience of sitting with brilliant Cubans over a rum to debate the State of Cuban Intellectual Life.

An IQ below 70 generally indicates someone with intellectual disability (ID).

This is not to suggest that Mailer ever lost the intellectual toughness which was central to his work.

His also was the intellectual point of view, and the intellectual interest in knowledge and its deductions.

The intellectual temperament finds voice in many great expressions, which are very Dante and also very Thomas, as Par.

In our western communities the dangers to the intellectual nexus lie rather on the other side.

She was a woman of great intellectual endowment, with highly cultivated literary tastes.

His predecessors had to deal with Perry Thomas, and in spite of his gentle ways and intellectual cast, Perry is active and wiry.

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intellectronicsintellectual disability