intellectual

1 of 2

adjective

in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl How to pronounce intellectual (audio)
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü(-ə)l
1
a
: of or relating to the intellect or its use
b
: developed or chiefly guided by the intellect rather than by emotion or experience : rational
c
: requiring use of the intellect
intellectual games
2
a
: given to study, reflection, and speculation
b
: engaged in activity requiring the creative use of the intellect
intellectual playwrights
intellectuality noun
intellectually
ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wə-lē How to pronounce intellectual (audio)
-chə-lē
-shwə-lē
-chü(-ə)-lē
adverb
intellectualness
ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl-nəs How to pronounce intellectual (audio)
-chəl-
-shwəl-
-chü(-ə)l-
noun

intellectual

2 of 2

noun

1
: an intellectual person
2
intellectuals plural, archaic : intellectual powers

Examples of intellectual in a Sentence

Adjective the social and intellectual life of the campus as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people Noun He thinks that he's an intellectual, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. She's a hard worker but she's no great intellectual. a café where artists and intellectuals mingle
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Such is the deeply disturbed state of the left: part Alice-in-Wonderland on steroids, part mind-bending intellectual dishonesty. Jeff Robbins, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2024 As Bella Baxter, a girl-woman coming into consciousness with reckless abandon and insatiable intellectual curiosity, Stone delivered perhaps the bravest — and most bananas — turn of her career. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 Her academic achievements are a testament to her diligence and intellectual curiosity, setting an example for her peers. Joe Mutascio, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Mar. 2024 Parham, who is Black and studies the history of race, came to believe that the Western canon is deeply intertwined with the Black intellectual tradition—after all, Malcolm X read the classics in prison. Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Though the brothers came from an urbane, intellectual family — their father was a lawyer, their mother a teacher — their work celebrated traditional life in the Italian countryside, where they were raised. Clay Risen, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The two met at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, connecting on a personal and an intellectual level over a passion for landscape architecture and a shared vision of the future of the industry. Paola Singer, Robb Report, 10 Mar. 2024 In early moments, Dalton takes on the low-level threats, and the focus is on a kind of intellectual combat that flaunts his precision and agility. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 But this Oscar belongs to Stone for charting the arc of Bella’s physical, intellectual and moral growth with the precision of an astronomer. Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
These successes are especially noteworthy given that the People’s Republic of China is less than 75 years old and was in utter turmoil during the disastrous Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when intellectuals were sent to the countryside, schools stopped functioning and chaos reigned. Dan Murphy, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024 The differences of opinion about war along racial lines would not surprise Black intellectuals and political leaders. Naima Green-Riley, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2024 This was true not only of run-of-the-mill Jews but of intellectuals and writers as well. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024 Left-wing intellectuals dismiss him as a mere demagogue. Ramachandra Guha, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 The book is premised on a counterfactual: What if the American Jewish intellectuals of the interwar period—that is, between the end of the Second World War and the Six-Day War—had been forced to wrestle with Zionism? Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024 Mod, in the harder of the two roles, plays Emma as an intellectual who’s neither nerdy nor prissy, and capable of having fun. TIME, 6 Feb. 2024 Washington’s personal politics drew him into direct conflict with the Black intellectuals of his time — Du Bois chief among them. Tobi Raji, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024 In France, she’s known as an unfiltered and slightly eccentric intellectual. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 24 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'intellectual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of intellectual was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near intellectual

Cite this Entry

“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectual. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

intellectual

1 of 2 adjective
in·​tel·​lec·​tu·​al ˌint-ᵊl-ˈek-ch(ə-w)əl How to pronounce intellectual (audio)
1
: relating to the intellect or understanding
2
: having intellect to a high degree : engaged in or given to learning and thinking
an intellectual person
3
: requiring study and thought
intellectual games
intellectuality noun
intellectually adverb

intellectual

2 of 2 noun
: an intellectual person

More from Merriam-Webster on intellectual

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