variants
also academical
1
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
"If you spent more time in academic pursuits and less time in social ones, you could easily make good grades," the dean told Valerie
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intellectual
very learned or educated but inexperienced in practical matters
academic thinkers who have no understanding of realpolitik
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in theoretic
existing only as an assumption or speculation
your arguments are merely academic—such a worst-case scenario is unlikely to ever occur
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in academe
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of academic
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Elite academics, and always one of the best football teams in the country that is always going to be battling for a National Championship.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
The portables will go away soon as work wraps up on the $11.6 million renovation and new academic wing.
—Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for academic
Adjective
This is about history, 61 years of tradition, athletes, and academics.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Elite academics, and always one of the best football teams in the country that is always going to be battling for a National Championship.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
Noun
While supporting a constant flow of talent and innovation, the city’s prosperous academic ecosystem is reinforcing the city’s reputation as a place where education, research, and entrepreneurship intersect.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
The portables will go away soon as work wraps up on the $11.6 million renovation and new academic wing.
—Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for academic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for academic
Adjective
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Throughout history, new technologies have often sparked fears of intellectual or physical decline.—
Nirmal Mukhi,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Before Heritage, most think tanks were structured either as contractors such as the RAND Corp., providing policy analysis at the request of the federal government, or universities without students, where individual scholars pursued their own intellectual priorities.—
E.J. Fagan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Chinese research took a long while to recover from Mao’s purge of academe.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
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His ideas have particularly struck a chord with readers who deal in aesthetics—artists, curators, designers, and architects—even though Han has not quite been embraced by philosophy academe.—
Kyle Chayka,
The New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2024
Noun
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Extras include Hudlin’s original 1983 student short of the same name, a reunion with Kid ‘n Play and co-stars Tisha Campbell and AJ Johnson, and a video discussion with film scholar Racquel Gates.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
18 Aug. 2025
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In the 1970s, management scholar Meredith Belbin observed that teams composed entirely of high-IQ individuals were prone to prolonged arguments, showed little cohesion and struggled to reach decisions, with members more interested in debating than collaborating.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the interim silence, a sizable amount of scholarly work was churned out.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
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The first half focuses on building knowledge from scholarly texts and practical insights about election administration.—
Dr. Rachael V. Cobb,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This score reflects real-world usage rather than theoretical task analysis.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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The resulting mysteries and their solutions only get more creative once the gang is back together, even dipping into theoretical science and thought experiments as the basis of his mind-bending stories.—
Kambole Campbell,
Vulture,
28 July 2025
Noun
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There’s little scaffolding or bridging, virtually no space given to centralized agencies, which most development academicians would agree still have their place.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Other founding principals include fellow academicians Andrei Shleifer and Robert Vishny.—
Charles Rotblut,
Forbes,
18 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Subsequent chapters explore great bookmen of the Renaissance, from the Florentine tradesman Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Flemish illuminator Simon Bening to the English antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton — manuscript obsessives all.—
Bruce Holsinger,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2023
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In the 1970s and ’80s, a flamboyant Texas bookman and one-time president of the ABAA named John Jenkins made money selling stolen and forged items to libraries and collectors.—
Travis McDade,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Aug. 2020
Adjective
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The awards are based on criteria including scholastic ability, responsibility toward education and financial need, with a special emphasis on community service.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2025
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Distinguished Cadet Honors were awarded to cadets with scholastic standing and all-around aptitude in NJROTC activities.—
Cadet Nadeen Willat,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Academic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/academic. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
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