cerebral

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adjective ce·re·bral \ sə-ˈrē-brəl , ˈser-ə- , ˈse-rə- \

Definition of cerebral

1 a :of or relating to the brain or the intellect

b :of, relating to, affecting, or being the cerebrum

cerebral edema

cerebral arteries

2 a :appealing to intellectual appreciation

cerebral drama

b :primarily intellectual in nature

a cerebral society

books for cerebral readers

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cerebrally

play \-brə-lē\ adverb

See cerebral defined for English-language learners

See cerebral defined for kids

cerebral was our Word of the Day on 03/02/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of cerebral in a Sentence

He's a very cerebral comedian.
a very cerebral jurist who has given much thought to what makes our nation's constitution work

Recent Examples of cerebral from the Web

In Chavarria's case, Otero saw that the 43-year-old mother of four had lived in the country for years, had no history of arrests, and was the sole provider for her children, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

— matt ormseth, courant.com, "New Haven Pastor Recounts Decision To Grant Immigration Fugitive Norwalk Mother Sanctuary," 18 Aug. 2017
Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are capillaries that are enlarged or deformed and thin-walled, making them vulnerable to leaks — which can lead to stroke or seizure.

— lacy schley, Discover Magazine, "Biological Building Blocks," 7 Aug. 2017
Esser, who had cerebral palsy, and his wheelchair were a constant presence at U of L practices and games.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville baseball super fan Michael Todd Esser dies at age 45," 27 July 2017
More: Trump finds solace in Cincinnati, at least for an hour ___ FIGHTING FROM A WHEELCHAIR Darrell Price, 50, was born with cerebral palsy and had his left hip replaced in 2009.

— dake kang, Cincinnati.com, "Trump to rally in Ohio as residents worry about health care," 25 July 2017
Over in Rocklin, Calif., the cerebral Walsh is running a more civilized camp.

— tim layden, SI.com, "The MMQB All-Time Draft: The Ultimate Football Fantasy," 19 July 2017
One of those suing is 33-year-old Saul Jimenez Perea of Clearlake, who has cerebral palsy and suffers severe seizures that require frequent hospitalizations.

— don thompson, The Seattle Times, "Latino plaintiffs sue California alleging poor health care," 12 July 2017
Nett, an activist who has cerebral palsy, spoke through a friend to voice his concerns about the bill's deep cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for low-income people that helps pay for services for disabled people.

— deborah yetter, The Courier-Journal, "Rep. Yarmuth's message at Sunday health care forum: Keep speaking out," 9 July 2017
This resulted in me developing cerebral palsy, which affects my walking.

— the mighty, Teen Vogue, "I’m a Guy and I Survived Anorexia," 8 July 2017

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

Did You Know?

English borrowed its word cerebrum directly from the Latin word for "brain," but the adjective cerebral took a slightly more circuitous route into our language, reaching English by way of French cerebral. Cerebrum has been used in our language as a name for the brain since the early 1600s, though the more specific scientific sense, referring just to the large upper part of the brain, didn't develop until later. Cerebral has been appearing in print in English since at least 1816. Other brainy descendants of cerebrum in English include cerebellum (the part of the brain between the brain stem and the back of the cerebrum) and cerebrate, which arrived in English in 1915 with the meaning "to use the mind" or "to think."

Origin and Etymology of cerebral

French cérébral, from Latin cerebrum brain; akin to Old High German hirni brain, Greek kara head, keras horn, Sanskrit śiras head — more at horn

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1816

See Words from the same year