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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mental
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
Vienna was the artistic—and intellectual—inspiration for national socialism.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Right-wing intellectuals will still find a home in Budapest, conservative publications will continue to print, and the MCC will not shutter.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Together, Venus and Pluto create a blend of seductive charm, substance and intellectual stimulation.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
Vienna was the artistic—and intellectual—inspiration for national socialism.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Noun
Just last month it was reported that Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers organiser, raped women and girls, and Noam Chomsky—one of the left’s foremost intellectuals whose most popular book is called Manufacturing Consent—is right there on the Epstein private jet.
—Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Right-wing intellectuals will still find a home in Budapest, conservative publications will continue to print, and the MCC will not shutter.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, other indie auteurs, from Alex Garland to David Lowery, have worked with studios like A24 and Neon to repeatedly deliver punishing films that position cerebral complexity as an event worth visiting theaters to witness.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 May 2026
-
Tverskov is the cerebral metronome of Varas’ possession system.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
With a commitment to clinical excellence and individualized treatment, Diamond Recovery Group helps thousands of individuals each year achieve lasting recovery and improved mental well being.—
Ascend Agency,
Sun Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
That committee is also set to hear House Bill 1195, which would prevent psychologists, counselors, social workers, therapists and others from using AI to provide direct therapy to clients, to make treatment plans, or to detect emotional or mental states.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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Doris Fisher was also an advocate of educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.—
Anne D'Innocenzio,
Chicago Tribune,
5 May 2026
-
The overall goal is to better position the campus to meet the workforce and educational needs across Dallas-Fort Worth.—
Samuel O’Neal
May 4,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
He's helped by Piggy (David McKenna), the prototypical nerd with asthma and an unfortunate nickname, but one of the only boys thinking of the practicalities of their survival.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
-
But the technical review seems to go well, nerd-to-nerd.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
The idea of intersectionality is deceptively and seductively simple—too simple, doubters sometimes think, to require an academic theory.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
And the he general pattern of interest around Orwell points to something more durable than his novels’ futurist menace or academic nostalgia.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
Jean noticed that the wait times displayed on her internal scorecard often exceeded an hour.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
Targeting innovation developed by creative startups gives the corporation a better chance of success, since investing money in internal efforts simply may not work well.—
Anis Uzzaman,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
About half of the ensembles were created within the past decade, which relays an of-the-times show versus an overly scholarly one.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
-
Your confidence can grow when scientists have performed a bunch of related research that’s gone through peer review, been published in scholarly journals and mostly points in the same direction.—
Jeffrey A. Lee,
The Conversation,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Wagner would be a sleepless highbrow’s favorite; the long, lush, unbroken lines of music share with the white-noise hum of the air-conditioner or the thrum of the painstaking lecture the quality of being absorbing without offering undue eventfulness.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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