academic

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adjective \ -mi-kəl \

variants: or less commonly academical

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of academic

1 a :of, relating to, or associated with an academy or school especially of higher learning

the academic curriculum

academic courses

b :of or relating to performance in courses of study

academic excellence

academic achievements

c :very learned but inexperienced in practical matters

academic thinkers

d :based on formal study especially at an institution of higher learning

her academic qualifications

2 :of or relating to literary or artistic rather than technical or professional studies

a region that has both academic and vocational high schools

3 a :theoretical, speculative

a purely academic question

b :having no practical or useful significance

4 :conforming to the traditions or rules of a school (as of literature or art) or an official academy :conventional

academic painting

—

academically

play \-mi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

- an academically gifted student

See academic defined for English-language learners

See academic defined for kids

Examples of academic in a Sentence

The book appeals to academics and to the general public.
He only cares about sports. He has no interest in academics.

Recent Examples of academic from the Web

That's a program for students committed to obtaining an academic honors diploma.

— fletcher page, The Courier-Journal, "Would Romeo Langford choose Vanderbilt? | Fletcher Page," 30 Aug. 2017
Harvey is bound to come with academic repercussions in addition to any psychological ones.

— hayley glatter, The Atlantic, "How Schoolchildren Will Cope With Hurricane Harvey," 30 Aug. 2017
The goal is to build a program of academic excellence and winning football.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "2017 high school football preview," 30 Aug. 2017
One assessment of the academic literature concluded that there are $250 billion in savings to be had from better managing chronic conditions and reducing hospital and emergency room admissions and readmissions.

— eduardo porter, New York Times, "Home Health Care: Shouldn’t It Be Work Worth Doing?," 29 Aug. 2017
According to Peters’ artist statement, photographs from her 2016 trip have been used in academic research to showcase the reality of education opportunities for refugee children.

— anne kniggendorf,, kansascity, "September First Friday gallery guide: 16 shows in the Crossroads and beyond," 29 Aug. 2017
Students have individual online profiles, where they, their parents and their teachers can track academic progress.

— scott wartman, Cincinnati.com, "School leaders punished over adoption of Facebook program," 29 Aug. 2017
The 18-year-olds all requested to live in separate dorms and are all on different academic tracks.

— pat eaton-robb, The Seattle Times, "Quads on the quad: Quadruplets begin colleges in Connecticut," 26 Aug. 2017
By immersing herself so completely in Collegium, Carol found relief from the stress of academic work, insights into the field of music administration and a possible career path.

— gerald bradshaw, Post-Tribune, "Finding your niche can ease first-year jitters," 17 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'academic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of academic

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French achademique, academique, borrowed from Latin Acadēmicus "of the school of Plato," borrowed from Greek Akadēmeikós, Akadēmaikós, from Akadḗmeia, a place where Plato taught + -ikos ¹-ic — more at academy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1581

See Words from the same year

academic Synonyms

Synonyms

educational, intellectual, scholarly, scholastic

Antonyms

nonacademic, noneducational, unacademic, unscholarly

Related Words

bookish, donnish, geeky, nerdish, nerdy, pedagogical (also pedagogic), pedantic, professorial, tweedy; curricular; educative, instructive; collegiate, graduate, postgraduate

Near Antonyms

cocurricular, extracurricular; noncollegiate

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

academic

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noun ac·a·dem·ic \ ˌa-kə-ˈde-mik \

Definition of academic

1 a :a member (such as a professor) of an institution of learning (such as a university)

Both of her parents are academics.

b :a person who is academic in background, outlook, or methods

2 academics plural, chiefly US :academic subjects :courses of study taken at a school or college

He has no interest in academics.