1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
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2
as in internal
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations
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as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 4 Jan. 2025
Van Buren has no interest in László's commanding air of intellectual superiority and authority — until an article in Look magazine flatters him as a millionaire with a becoming taste for modernity.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 16 Dec. 2024
Sure, they’re meant to be funny, but Tomlin inhabits each of them — from Trudy the homeless woman to Brandy and Tina, hookers tired of being interviewed by intellectuals — with affection and empathy alike.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for intellectual 
Adjective
How did this figure of speech become a pejorative for elitist artistic and/or intellectual seclusion—something to be gotten out of or pulled down for the good of the cause, the community, or, more recently, the all-encompassing market?
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 4 Jan. 2025
Van Buren has no interest in László's commanding air of intellectual superiority and authority — until an article in Look magazine flatters him as a millionaire with a becoming taste for modernity.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
The ubiquitous New Yorker tote became the uniform of the chic intellectual, and Trader Joe’s reusable bags (though around since the late ’70s) are a badge of brand loyalty.
—Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 16 Dec. 2024
Sure, they’re meant to be funny, but Tomlin inhabits each of them — from Trudy the homeless woman to Brandy and Tina, hookers tired of being interviewed by intellectuals — with affection and empathy alike.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
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If Santo Stefano is cerebral, Santa Sabina is ethereal — as iridescent as a soap bubble but as solid as stone.David Laskin, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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The cinematic language Expressionist filmmakers invented was esoteric, literally and figuratively shadowy, cerebral, and heavily symbolic.Elle Carroll, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Secrecy is also a departure from existing North Dakota law for internal investigations by public entities.Jacob Orledge, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2025
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These issues are at the forefront of Mood Machine (out tomorrow), which is, in part, an investigation into the company’s internal practices.Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Others geek out over Velma, the glasses-wearing, hypothesis-sharing nerd from Scooby Doo.CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2024
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As the pandemic raged, the lawsuit hardly registered outside the small world of nerds obsessed with copyright rules.Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Move spring football to June: College football’s current transfer portal windows were installed to sync up with the academic calendar (which will not change) and spring football.Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
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The school offers an innovative curriculum that embeds the visual and performing arts into strategies to help students retain academic content — especially those who are struggling with STEM subjects.Christopher C. Morphew, Baltimore Sun, 29 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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End up between the inner and outer tubs, especially if the washer is overloaded—once there, those socks are gone for good.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
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Entanglement gets messy To probe the inner structure of protons, scientists looked at high-energy particle collisions that have occurred in facilities like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).Robert Lea, Space.com, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Richie Grainge herself has evolved her stylistic approach from an ostentatious Los Angeleno verve into a look that’s more low-key highbrow.Nick Remsen, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
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No word better sums up our quixotic hopes for the visual, uniting the lowbrow (video-game headsets, van Gogh warehouses), the highbrow (Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms, James Turrell’s light installations), and the middlebrow (Alfonso Cuarón’s Steadicam jaunts, James Cameron’s 3-D extravaganzas).Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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There is a lot of scholarly research regarding the ins and outs of wintertime blues.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
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But plenty of scholarly studies have confirmed formaldehyde’s presence in our everyday lives and mirror our findings.Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Williamson said earlier this week that his hamstring is completely healed, but his mental state remains a work in progress.oregonlive, oregonlive, 13 Apr. 2023
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Sign up That Torrance pushed Vial and Eduardo to such mental anguish does not surprise immigrant-justice advocates.María Inés Taracena, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 11 Jan. 2025.
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