intellect

noun in·tel·lect \ ˈin-tə-ˌlekt \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of intellect

1 a : the power of knowing as distinguished from the power to feel and to will : the capacity for knowledge

b : the capacity for rational or intelligent thought especially when highly developed

2 : a person with great intellectual powers

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Examples of intellect in a Sentence

She is a woman of superior intellect.
She has a sharp intellect.
We were required to read a book every week in order to develop our intellects.
music that appeals to the intellect while still satisfying the emotions

Recent Examples of intellect from the Web

But what is so bad about using our intellect — using science — to make our lives better, more livable?

— danielle tcholakian, The Cut, "What It’s Like to Know You’ll Be on Antidepressants for Life," 12 Apr. 2018
The intellect and genius is there, even underneath prose that’s conversational without being at all vernacular or simple.

— jill golden, Time, "Octavia Butler 101: Two Scholars on the Sci-Fi Genius Who Inspired Janelle Monáe," 4 Apr. 2018
The women Dean covers used their intellect to stake out a place for themselves in the conversation and on the pages of major magazines like The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books where the American public first got to know them.

— anna diamond, Smithsonian, "Writing in the Public Eye, These Women Brought the 20th Century Into Focus," 4 Apr. 2018
That disembodied intellect was also one of the world’s best-selling authors.

— mark feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Stephen Hawking, ground-breaking physicist, dead at 76," 14 Mar. 2018
Our intellect can be deceived, our feelings manipulated, and conceptions confused.

— annie tritt, Vox, "I photograph trans and nonbinary kids. It’s made me rethink my own gender.," 28 Mar. 2018
The opportunities that education affords have as much to do with a person’s zip code as his or her intellect.

— nancy armour, USA TODAY, "NFL's Players Coalition members may be giving up protests, but activism, advocacy continue," 26 Mar. 2018
One is known for his intellect, the other for his ruthlessness.

— The Economist, "China’s President Xi Jinping designates some sidekicks," 22 Mar. 2018
The Remnant are those who by force of intellect are able to apprehend these principles, and by force of character are able, at least measurably, to cleave to them.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "The Case for “Retreatism” in the Trump Era," 15 Feb. 2018

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