anti-intellectual

adjective

an·​ti-in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al ˌan-tē-ˌin-tə-ˈlek-ch(ə-w)əl 

-ˈlek-shwəl, 

ˌan-tī-

: opposing or hostile to intellectuals or to an intellectual view or approach

anti-intellectual noun

anti-intellectualism

ˌan-tē-ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə(-wə)-ˌli-zəm 

-ˈlek-shwə-, 

ˌan-tī-

noun

Examples of anti-intellectual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This notion when applied to classrooms, teachers, and students is anti-educational and anti-intellectual. — Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2026

Trump proved to be a vexing ideological lodestar—aggressively anti-intellectual in his attitudes and consistently inconsistent in his views. — Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026

Its popularity is improbable by virtue of its unapologetic intellectualism, increasingly alien in a highly anti-intellectual era. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2026

In the year 2505, protagonist Joe Bauers wakes up from hibernation to discover an America dominated by corporations and led by profoundly anti-science and anti-intellectual politicians. — Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026

If that — and a title font that echoes Woody Allen’s go-to choice of white Windsor Light Condensed over a black background — sets anti-intellectual alarm bells ringing, then this might not be the film for you. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025

Conservative faculty are almost impossible to find at Harvard, and that absence has created a warped, often anti-intellectual, climate on campus. — Samuel J. Abrams, National Review, 19 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for anti-intellectual

• aspectual
• effectual
• ineffectual
• intellectual