Synonyms of intellectual

intellectual 1 of 2

adjective

ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl 

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

• cerebral
• academic
• scholarly
• intellectualistic
• academical
• highbrow
• intellectualist
• cultured
• nerdy
• intelligent
• geeky
• literate
• blue
• educated
• nerdish
• long-haired
• eggheaded
• highbrowed
• cultivated
• longhair
• brilliant
• clever
• middlebrow
• erudite
• polymathic
• smart
• professorial
• bookish
• learned
• didactic
• schooled
• pedantic
• brainy
• snobbish
• well-read
• snooty
• snobby
• high-toned
• polymath
• bright
• quick-witted
• hyperintellectual
• high-hat
• polyhistoric

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonintellectual
• lowbrow
• ignorant
• uncultured
• uncultivated
• uneducated
• anti-intellectual
• illiterate
• philistine
• stupid
• idiotic
• foolish
• unlettered
• slow
• unintelligent
• unread
• dumb
• moronic
• unenlightened
• benighted
• idiotical

2

as in internal

of or relating to the mind

intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying

Synonyms & Similar Words

• internal
• inner
• mental
• interior
• psychological
• cerebral
• psychologic
• cognitive
• conscious
• epistemic
• psychical
• knowing
• psychic
• thinking
• rational
• intelligent
• reasoning
• noetic
• brilliant
• brainy
• telepathic
• clever
• smart
• alert
• quick-witted
• sharp-witted
• bright
• sharp

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• physical
• somatic
• corporeal
• nonmental
• carnal
• bodily
• corporal
• fleshly
• unconscious
• stupid
• dense
• unintelligent
• mindless
• fatuous
• obtuse
• simple
• witless
• thick
• dopey
• doltish
• brainless
• weak-minded
• thickheaded
• slow-witted
• half-witted
• dopy

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

• educational
• academical
• academic
• scholarly
• scholastic
• educative
• collegiate
• pedagogic
• pedagogical
• professorial
• bookish
• curricular
• nerdy
• geeky
• pedantic
• instructive
• donnish
• nerdish
• tweedy
• postgraduate
• graduate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonacademic
• extracurricular
• noneducational
• unscholarly
• cocurricular
• unacademic
• noncollegiate

intellectual

2 of 2

noun

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

• nerd
• highbrow
• intellectualist
• geek
• intellect
• blue
• intellectualizer
• double-dome
• longhair
• wizard
• bluestocking
• sage
• Brahmin
• thinker
• mandarin
• brain
• genius
• pseud
• whiz

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• philistine
• lowbrow
• anti-intellectual
• imbecile
• dope
• moron
• dummy
• dunce
• simpleton
• dolt
• blockhead
• pinhead
• dumbbell
• nitwit
• fathead
• half-wit

Examples of intellectual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Edwards sees Ailey’s literary, theatrical, and intellectual loves as a form of company. —Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Inspirational leaders also demonstrate intellectual humility. —Tracy Brower, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024

Noun

The organization Hot was started in 1989 by Leigh Blake and John Carlin as a response to the devastation wrought by AIDS on a generation of New York artists and intellectuals. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 6 Sep. 2024

The instrument of intellectuals For the world’s mathematicians, the ultimate luxury is a piece of fine Japanese chalk. —Staff, Quartz, 4 Sep. 2024