scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskä-lər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special field

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

Synonyms of scholar

• teacher
• sage
• pundit
• savant
• wizard

Examples of scholar in a Sentence

She's a renowned scholar of African-American history.

scholars have long debated whether there is ever such a thing as a truly selfless act

Recent Examples on the Web

The Mediterranean in the tenth to seventh century BCE often gets explained by scholars using modern terminology like sea commerce, cabotage or maritime trade, and this presents a false picture of a world that is structured by rules and organized interstate bodies and national governments. —Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026

Numerous major literary scholars and critics have written about the book, and several novelists have composed entire works in response to it. —Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026

The law itself does not elaborate on what qualifies as an insurrection, but legal scholars generally understand the term as referring to a violent uprising of some kind. —Juliana Kim, NPR, 15 Jan. 2026

Paloma Picasso book bags This is one for the scholars! —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English scoler, from Old English scolere & Anglo-French escoler, from Medieval Latin scholaris, from Late Latin, of a school, from Latin schola school

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scholar

• Rhodes scholar

Rhymes for scholar

• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• smaller
• squalor
• taller
• trawler

Kids Definition

scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskäl-ər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special area

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

scholarly adjective