intellectual

adjective

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in·tel·lec·tu·al | \ ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl

, -chəl, -shwəl, -chü(-ə)l \

Definition of intellectual

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

2a : given to study, reflection, and speculation

b : engaged in activity requiring the creative use of the intellect intellectual playwrights

intellectual

noun

Definition of intellectual (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : an intellectual person

2 intellectuals plural, archaic : intellectual powers

Other Words from intellectual Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about intellectual

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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 Years later, McNair was selected to become only the second African American to travel to space, overcoming segregation, poverty and racist hidebound stereotypes in an intellectual act of resistance that inspired a generation. — Fox News, "5 African-American groundbreakers in the US space program," 21 Feb. 2020 Classicism isn’t a style There are intellectual and moral reasons why dictating a single aesthetic program for public buildings is a terrible idea, as critics have pointed out. — Anne Quito, Quartz, "What is classical architecture? It’s not exactly what the Trump administration thinks it is," 19 Feb. 2020 The intellectual Water Bearer prioritizes the head over the heart, and values unique ways of thinking. — Erika W. Smith, refinery29.com, "This Pisces Season, We’ll Make It Work," 18 Feb. 2020 Over the years, this would ideally result in a more dignified and intellectual culture in medicine than exists today. — Monya De, STAT, "Why medical school should start at age 28," 17 Feb. 2020 His biggest motivation at the time was to change the perception that traders had no intellectual capital. — Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, "The Delhi trader behind Modi government’s snub to Jeff Bezos," 4 Feb. 2020 In an era when few women worked, Philipp and her sister Nancy were driven and intellectual from a young age, her family said. — Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mary Ellen Philipp used her enthusiasm, big ideas to preserve Milwaukee's historic architecture," 3 Feb. 2020 An air sign, Aquarius is rational and intellectual. — Sophie Saint Thomas, Allure, "The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Mercury Retrograde in 2020," 25 Jan. 2020 So are those who possess the intellectual, financial, and social capital to shield themselves from the risks of unemployment, economic ruin, and isolation. — Samuel Goldman, National Review, "The Populist Wager," 9 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But many Islamic scholars and Muslim intellectuals reject this view as radical. — Washington Post, "Execution for a Facebook post? Why blasphemy is a capital offense in some Muslim countries," 20 Feb. 2020 Not all postwar intellectuals fell under the sway of the divine marquis or saw him as simply a philosopher who lived his ideas in a more extreme way than others. — Mitchell Abidor, The New York Review of Books, "Reading Sade in the Age of Epstein," 12 Feb. 2020 The idea of a permanent institution to ensure peace had appealed to intellectuals for centuries. — National Geographic, "Why the League of Nations was doomed before it began," 9 Jan. 2020 In 1946 Paepcke asked Bayer to move to Aspen to design a cultural retreat for business executives, intellectuals and music lovers. — Wendy Moonan, Smithsonian Magazine, "The Pioneering Work of Graphic Artist Herbert Bayer," 4 Feb. 2020 Less than thirty-five years later a fair number of American intellectuals and American Jews had opted for neoconservatism. — John Lukacs, Harper's magazine, "The Radical Right," 20 Jan. 2020 Adding to the urgency behind Noname's initiative is the fact that many of the smaller, independent bookstores that are disappearing had once served as gathering places for Black intellectuals and changemakers at crucial points in history. — Tayo Bero, Teen Vogue, "Noname Is Fighting to Save Black Intellectual Spaces," 17 Jan. 2020 The earthquake killed leading intellectuals, artists, feminists, and other well-known change makers of Haitian society, whose departure is being felt even today as the country struggles with its present and future. — National Geographic, "Unlimited access to today’s stories, videos, and photo galleries," 10 Jan. 2020 Founded in 1540 by the Basque theologian Ignatius of Loyola and a group of intellectuals at the University of Paris, many early Jesuit missionaries who joined the Society became teachers in a range of spiritual and secular topics. — Anne Quito, Quartz at Work, "What a Jesuit school in Manila can teach us about the purpose of companies," 16 Dec. 2019

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

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