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

But long before his son's political ambitions, Mamdani was a prominent scholar whose work examined colonialism and anti-colonialism in Africa. —Leila Fadel, NPR, 16 Dec. 2025

Her exclusion from traditional archives is a familiar story to scholars of Black American life, especially those who study the contributions of women. —Dara T. Mathis, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025

The film follows an enthusiastic Hitchcock scholar who becomes convinced that the neighbor across the courtyard has murdered his wife. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Dec. 2025

Whether one is persuaded by his ideas or not, Waltz will long be admired for encouraging scholars to ask the big questions. —Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025

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