intellectualize
verb
in·tel·lec·tu·al·ize
ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wə-ˌlīz 
-chə-ˌlīz,
-shwə-ˌlīz,
-chü(-ə)-ˌlīz
intellectualized; intellectualizing
: to give rational form or content to
Examples of intellectualize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The problem is that Di Constanzo seems to be intellectualizing his themes rather than dramatizing them.
—
Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The goal here is not to inform or educate, to listen or process, to build or intellectualize but to win, to own, to dunk on, to break the opponent’s brain, to spawn an argument of such devastating definitiveness that the matter can be considered, once and for all, closed.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Important Dates December 7: Venus moves into the air sign Aquarius, urging us to intellectualize romance.
—Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Spirituality is internalized, not intellectualized.
—Prinita Thevarajah, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024
Sit with your feelings before intellectualizing them.
—Anna Borges, SELF, 9 Sep. 2024
It wasn’t thought out or intellectualized, just sheer emotion.
—Holly Alvarado, Orange County Register, 27 June 2024
Jarmusch is entirely supportive but seems to be still intellectualizing it.
—Carl Swanson, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2024
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Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The goal here is not to inform or educate, to listen or process, to build or intellectualize but to win, to own, to dunk on, to break the opponent’s brain, to spawn an argument of such devastating definitiveness that the matter can be considered, once and for all, closed.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Important Dates December 7: Venus moves into the air sign Aquarius, urging us to intellectualize romance.
—Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Spirituality is internalized, not intellectualized.
—Prinita Thevarajah, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024
Sit with your feelings before intellectualizing them.
—Anna Borges, SELF, 9 Sep. 2024
It wasn’t thought out or intellectualized, just sheer emotion.
—Holly Alvarado, Orange County Register, 27 June 2024
Jarmusch is entirely supportive but seems to be still intellectualizing it.
—Carl Swanson, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Intellectualize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectualize. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
intellectualize
transitive verb
in·tel·lec·tu·al·ize
variants
or chiefly British intellectualise
intellectualized or chiefly British intellectualised; intellectualizing or chiefly British intellectualising
1
: to give rational form or content to
2
: to avoid conscious recognition of the emotional basis of (an act or feeling) by substituting a superficially plausible explanation
conflicts that are intellectualized—L. E. Hinsie
L. E. HinsieLove words? Need even more definitions?
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