intelligentsia

noun

in·​tel·​li·​gent·​sia in-ˌte-lə-ˈjen(t)-sē-ə  -ˈgen(t)- 

: intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite

Synonyms of intelligentsia

• literati
• elite
• clerisy
• elect

Examples of intelligentsia in a Sentence

a presidential candidate who was the darling of the intelligentsia—and very few others

Recent Examples on the Web

Like most of the foreign intelligentsia, such as Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, and the New York Times correspondent Herbert Matthews, all of whom had come to Madrid to cover the war, Martha arrived in Spain a passionate partisan. —Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026

The project occasioned a lift in vibe: Björk had spent the years prior serving with the Reykjavík intelligentsia in her old band the Sugarcubes, an accidentally successful cadre of anarchist poets convinced of their solemn duty to demystify stardom. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026

For now, these ideas mostly live in the political intelligentsia and online far-right hubs. —Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 25 Nov. 2025

Revolutionary groups, often recruited from universities and the intelligentsia, were soon carrying out terrorist attacks in the cities. —Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intelligentia intelligence

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

intelligentsia

noun

in·​tel·​li·​gen·​tsia

in-ˌtel-ə-ˈjen(t)-sē-ə, 

-ˈgen(t)-

: intellectuals as a group : educated people