intellectualize
verb
in·tel·lec·tu·al·ize
ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wə-ˌlīz 
-chə-ˌlīz,
-shwə-ˌlīz,
-chü(-ə)-ˌlīz
intellectualized; intellectualizing
: to give rational form or content to
Examples of intellectualize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Aquarius season takes you into deeper territory, and there’s no skimming or intellectualizing your way through it.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Put simply, their connection is intellectualized rather than embodied.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
The media entertains these questions, in an effort to intellectualize the ideologies underpinning the cult’s bloodlust.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
The problem is that Di Constanzo seems to be intellectualizing his themes rather than dramatizing them.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The goal here is not to inform or educate, to listen or process, to build or intellectualize but to win, to own, to dunk on, to break the opponent’s brain, to spawn an argument of such devastating definitiveness that the matter can be considered, once and for all, closed.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Important Dates December 7: Venus moves into the air sign Aquarius, urging us to intellectualize romance.
—Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Spirituality is internalized, not intellectualized.
—Prinita Thevarajah, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Put simply, their connection is intellectualized rather than embodied.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
The media entertains these questions, in an effort to intellectualize the ideologies underpinning the cult’s bloodlust.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
The problem is that Di Constanzo seems to be intellectualizing his themes rather than dramatizing them.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The goal here is not to inform or educate, to listen or process, to build or intellectualize but to win, to own, to dunk on, to break the opponent’s brain, to spawn an argument of such devastating definitiveness that the matter can be considered, once and for all, closed.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Important Dates December 7: Venus moves into the air sign Aquarius, urging us to intellectualize romance.
—Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Spirituality is internalized, not intellectualized.
—Prinita Thevarajah, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Intellectualize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectualize. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
intellectualize
transitive verb
in·tel·lec·tu·al·ize
variants
or chiefly British intellectualise
intellectualized or chiefly British intellectualised; intellectualizing or chiefly British intellectualising
1
: to give rational form or content to
2
: to avoid conscious recognition of the emotional basis of (an act or feeling) by substituting a superficially plausible explanation
conflicts that are intellectualized—L. E. Hinsie
L. E. HinsieLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
