1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in internal
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of intellectual
Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 2025
Educational Contributions Education served as a cornerstone of progress, and Boston’s Black women educators expanded intellectual and professional opportunities.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2025
The property was originally built by a philosopher and theologian as a retreat for artists and intellectuals, and is now famous for hosting the G7 summit in 2015 and 2022.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Nevill, who directs the UVA Autism Research Core, explained there are several reasons to broaden the legal precedent to bar all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from facing the death penalty.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 2025
Educational Contributions Education served as a cornerstone of progress, and Boston’s Black women educators expanded intellectual and professional opportunities.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
The Soviets were accused of international war crimes consisting of the mass murder of thousands of Polish military officers and intellectuals in the spring of 1940 in a forest near Smolensk in the Soviet Union.
—Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2025
The property was originally built by a philosopher and theologian as a retreat for artists and intellectuals, and is now famous for hosting the G7 summit in 2015 and 2022.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
-
Our cerebral circuitry changes constantly—every day, new links are made amongst the 86 billion individual neurons in our heads, and old connections are allowed to fall away.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
17 Apr. 2025
-
While athleticism doesn’t hurt, the cerebral nature of safety shows minimal correlation between extreme athleticism and success at the next level.—
Paul Dehner Jr.,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Major negative factors include Iran’s greater nuclear weapon capabilities, its shorter time frames to build nuclear weapons, and the growing normalization of internal Iranian discussions favoring building nuclear weapons.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The countermeasures will come into effect on April 15, following the completion of the Commission's internal procedures.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Take it from a film critic: Even gawky beta nerds get smothered by their own internalized masculinity.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Wednesday night gives us a grudge match worth watching, and a sliding-doors moment to bask in and nerd out.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Yemane’s academic ambitions led him to study architecture, earning both undergraduate and master’s degrees.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Louisiana is the only state in the nation where the average student has fully recovered any academic losses sustained during the pandemic.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Of course, there’s plenty for your inner child to actually play with.—
Nik Miles,
Robb Report,
8 Apr. 2025
-
But the delight of these huggable toys coincides with other notable trends, beyond just a desire for comfort or to reconnect with an inner child.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2025
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
Adjective
-
Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research.—
Cyril Labbé,
The Conversation,
31 Jan. 2025
-
Federal law prohibits universities from discussing individual students' disciplinary records, but the University takes these violations of our rules and scholarly norms seriously.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
Fox News,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
This definition also includes instance in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (include due to the influence of drugs or alcohol) or because of age.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Without supervision or regulation, kids can easily stumble upon explicit material, including violent and extremist content, that can lead to mental distress, desensitization and a warped perception of the world around them.—
Richard Wistocki,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share