scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskä-lər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special field

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

Synonyms of scholar

• teacher
• sage
• pundit
• savant
• wizard

Examples of scholar in a Sentence

She's a renowned scholar of African-American history.

scholars have long debated whether there is ever such a thing as a truly selfless act

Recent Examples on the Web

Kyle Stanley, a media scholar at the University of Nevada, Reno who has studied the MCU, noted that Iron Man was a lower-level hero when the company decided to build a movie around him, and Downey was not the kind of star who anchored blockbusters. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026

Using the scholar’s own words, Baird lays out Said’s role in public life and defines one of his principle intellectual projects. — Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026

Some Lewis scholars and aficionados are taking a wait-and-see approach. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026

Other scholars have called egalitarian societies a scientific origin myth. — Christopher Von Rueden, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English scoler, from Old English scolere & Anglo-French escoler, from Medieval Latin scholaris, from Late Latin, of a school, from Latin schola school

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scholar

• Rhodes scholar

Rhymes for scholar

• caller
• choler
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• smaller
• squalor
• taller

Kids Definition

scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskäl-ər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special area

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

scholarly adjective