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As Superman fans know, Brainiac was the superintelligent villain in the Action Comics series and its spin-offs. His name is a portmanteau of brain and maniac. You don't need x-ray vision to see the connection here—etymologists think Superman's brainy adversary is the likely inspiration for the common noun brainiac. The term was not coined right away though. The comic-book series was launched in 1938 and the character Brainiac debuted in 1958, but current evidence doesn't show general use of brainiac to refer to a superintelligent person until the 1970s.
Examples of brainiac in a Sentence
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
In addition to the Ivy League brainiacs, Chen employs an army of a million-plus gig workers from more than 50 countries around the world who help come up with questions that might stump AI, evaluating the models’ responses and writing criteria that help AI generate a perfect response.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Both are wicked smart brainiacs on a tireless quest to do good in the world.
—Natasha Stoynoff, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
The two brainiacs representing Colorado at the Scripps National Spelling Bee outside Washington, D.C., this week advanced through the first three rounds of the competition Tuesday.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 28 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Brainiac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brainiac. Accessed 11 Oct. 2025.
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