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

Aurangzeb assembled a panel of qualified Indian ʿulamāʾ (religious scholars) to compile this legal manual. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026

Vali Nasr, a scholar of Iranian politics at Johns Hopkins University, spoke with Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep about whether war has made the Iranian regime stronger. —Steve Inskeep, NPR, 9 Apr. 2026

Ann McColl, a constitutional scholar and former general counsel for the North Carolina Association of Educators, suggested the issues Leandro addressed may be in North Carolina courts again. —Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026

Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robot reveals that scholars can disagree. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 8 Apr. 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
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• smaller
• squalor
• taller
• trawler

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