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Synonyms

intelligentsia

American  
[in-tel-i-jent-see-uh, -gent-] / ɪnˌtɛl ɪˈdʒɛnt si ə, -ˈgɛnt- /

plural noun

  1. intellectuals considered as a group or class, especially as a cultural, social, or political elite.

intelligentsia British  
/ ɪnˌtɛlɪˈdʒɛntsɪə /

noun

  1. the educated or intellectual people in a society or community

"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
intelligentsia Cultural  

  1. Intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite.

Etymology

Origin of intelligentsia

1905–10; < Russian intelligéntsia < Latin intelligentia intelligence

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.