intellect

in·tel·lect

noun \ˈin-tə-ˌlekt\

Definition of INTELLECT

1

a : the power of knowing as distinguished from the power to feel and to will : the capacity for knowledge b : the capacity for rational or intelligent thought especially when highly developed

2

: a person with great intellectual powers

Examples of INTELLECT

1. She is a woman of superior intellect.
2. She has a sharp intellect.
3. We were required to read a book every week in order to develop our intellects.
4. music that appeals to the intellect while still satisfying the emotions

Origin of INTELLECT

Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin intellectus, from intellegere to understand — more at intelligent

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to INTELLECT

Synonyms: brain, brainiac, genius, thinker, whiz, wiz, wizard

Antonyms: blockhead, dodo, dolt, dope, dumbbell, dummy, dunce, fathead, goon, half-wit, hammerhead, idiot, imbecile, knucklehead, moron, nitwit, numskull (or numbskull), pinhead

Related Words: polyhistor, polymath, Renaissance man; blue, bluestocking, highbrow, intellectual; sage, savant; egghead, geek, longhair, nerd; master, virtuoso; ace, crackerjack (also crackajack), natural

Near Antonyms: ignoramus, illiterate, know-nothing, lowbrow; anti-intellectual, philistine; ass, donkey, fool, jackass; beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, jerk, louse, lout, skunk, snake, stinker

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Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with INTELLECT

acrolect, architect, birth defect, circumspect, deselect, dialect, disaffect, disconnect, disinfect, disrespect, edge effect, genuflect, grapholect, incorrect, indirect, in effect, interject, intersect, introject, introspect, lake effect, misdirect, preselect, re-collect, recollect, redirect, reelect, resurrect, retrospect, self-respect, side effect, turtlenecked, vivisect