intellectual

1 of 3

adjective

in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl 

-chəl, 

-shwəl, 

-chü(-ə)l

1

a

: of or relating to the intellect or its use

b

: developed or chiefly guided by the intellect rather than by emotion or experience : rational

c

: requiring use of the intellect

intellectual games

2

a

: given to study, reflection, and speculation

b

: engaged in activity requiring the creative use of the intellect

intellectual playwrights

intellectuality

ˌin-tə-ˌlek-chə-ˈwa-lə-tē 

noun

intellectually

ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wə-lē 

-chə-lē, 

-shwə-lē, 

-chü(-ə)-lē

adverb

intellectualness

ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl-nəs 

-chəl-, 

-shwəl-, 

-chü(-ə)l-

noun

intellectual

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: an intellectual person

2

intellectuals plural, archaic : intellectual powers

intellectualness

3 of 3

noun (2)

in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al·​ness ˌintᵊlˈekch(əw)əlnə̇s 

-ksh-

plural -es

: the quality or state of being intellectual

Synonyms of intellectual

Adjective

• cerebral
• academic
• scholarly
• intellectualistic
• highbrow
• intellectualist

Noun (1)

• nerd
• highbrow
• intellectualist
• geek

Examples of intellectual in a Sentence

Adjective

the social and intellectual life of the campus

as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people

Noun (1)

He thinks that he's an intellectual, but he doesn't know what he's talking about.

She's a hard worker but she's no great intellectual.

a café where artists and intellectuals mingle

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

How do the questions AI raises invoke much older philosophical and theological problems that have haunted intellectual history? — Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 11 July 2026

The sheer fact of filming fills a frame, even one composed with quasi-documentary plainness, with a plethora of details of narrative, expressive, aesthetic, intellectual, and historical import. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026

Noun

Most of the leading liberal intellectuals of the day—Lionel Trilling, George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, Isaiah Berlin, the columnist James Wechsler, and above all Reinhold Niebuhr—did too. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Joel Halldorf is Professor of Church History and a public intellectual in Scandinavia, with regular contributions to leading newspapers and cultural journals in Sweden and Norway. — Literary Hub, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (1)

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1667, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing intellectual

• anti-intellectual
• hyper-intellectual
• intellectual disability
• intellectual freedom
• intellectual property
• pseudo-intellectual

Rhymes for intellectual

• aspectual
• effectual
• ineffectual

Kids Definition

intellectual

1 of 2 adjective

in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al ˌint-ᵊl-ˈek-ch(ə-w)əl 

1

: relating to the intellect or understanding

2

: having intellect to a high degree : engaged in or given to learning and thinking

an intellectual person

3

: requiring study and thought

intellectual games

intellectuality

-ˌek-chə-ˈwal-ət-ē 

noun

intellectually

-ˈek-chə-(wə-)lē 

adverb

intellectual

2 of 2 noun

: an intellectual person