brainiac

noun

brain·i·ac ˈbrā-nē-ˌak

: a very intelligent person

Did you know?

As Superman fans know, Brainiac was the superintelligent villain in the Action Comics series and its spin-offs. His name is a portmanteau of brain and maniac. You don't need x-ray vision to see the connection here—etymologists think Superman's brainy adversary is the likely inspiration for the common noun brainiac. The term was not coined right away though. The comic-book series was launched in 1938 and the character Brainiac debuted in 1958, but current evidence doesn't show general use of brainiac to refer to a superintelligent person until the 1970s.

Examples of brainiac in a Sentence

a techie who always has to have the latest gadget that the brainiacs in Silicon Valley have cooked up

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Other designers, like the British Cypriot Hussein Chalayan, brought a compelling sense of brainiac wonder to the fashion world. —

Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024 The company hired a team of brainiacs and gave them latitude to pursue research questions in service of the perfect brew. —

Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 25 May 2024 The bright-eyed Redmayne really fits the part of a brainiac – especially in a story about one of our greatest minds. —

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 All this attaches the show’s brainiac spectacle to big humanistic ideas. —

James Poniewozik, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for brainiac