non·in·tel·lec·tu·al
ˌnän-ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl 
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü(-ə)l
: not intellectual
a nonintellectual person
… his recreations tend to be nonintellectual: watching movies, television, or baseball …—
Current Biography
Current Biography
: a person who is not intellectual
Intellectuals think of themselves as being smart and interesting people, but nonintellectuals think of them as arrogant, boring, impractical, or coldly analytical.—Steven Reiss
Steven ReissExamples of nonintellectual in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebKathleen Parthé, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2022
Such thumbnail indictments of the nonintellectual masses seemed to stem from Hofstadter’s own mounting sense of political and cultural homelessness in the postwar world.
—Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 16 Apr. 2020
George, meanwhile, grew up in a cheerfully nonintellectual and inclusive household that celebrated Christmas and just about anything involving their son, even Lizzie.
—Ellen Emry Heltzel, The Seattle Times, 3 Sep. 2017
Adjective
In Cherkashin, Nash Sovremennik presented a model genealogy as well as a model Pushkin scholar: a righteous, passionate, nonintellectual man of the people.
—Kathleen Parthé, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2022
Such thumbnail indictments of the nonintellectual masses seemed to stem from Hofstadter’s own mounting sense of political and cultural homelessness in the postwar world.
—Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 16 Apr. 2020
George, meanwhile, grew up in a cheerfully nonintellectual and inclusive household that celebrated Christmas and just about anything involving their son, even Lizzie.
—Ellen Emry Heltzel, The Seattle Times, 3 Sep. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonintellectual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near nonintellectual
Cite this Entry
“Nonintellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonintellectual. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share