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 theoretical
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
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Recent Examples of academic
Arkansas Online, 13 Apr. 2026
However, our academic data shows there is an opportunity gap amongst our students within specific subgroups in our district.
—Tara Molina, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For a long time, jazz, for me, at least, was sounding real academic.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Adjective
As of December, the program had distributed more than 77,000 books to Little Rock School District students, focusing on elementary schools requiring greater academic support.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Apr. 2026
However, our academic data shows there is an opportunity gap amongst our students within specific subgroups in our district.
—Tara Molina, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
Gamage urged another academic — Jeff Hoopes, a professor at the University of North Carolina who specializes in how people respond to tax law — to review both studies.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For a long time, jazz, for me, at least, was sounding real academic.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for academic
Adjective
-
He was given mental health and educational support, but later appeared to have stopped engaging with social workers.—
Brian Melley,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The week’s events in San Diego, organized by Dark Sky San Diego County, include stargazing parties and educational programming across the county.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Crabapple is an artist and author known for lucid leftie takes, and her book takes on the thorny history of a vibrant intellectual tradition.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The man’s still handsome, laid back, intellectual and gives a sly smile here and there.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Moreover, according to the researchers, their technique works even when there is no perfect theoretical model of the material, and the sample is not pure (which is often the case in real-world materials).—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Apr. 2026
-
This week, that scenario started to feel less theoretical.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Woke doesn't just characterize academe, academe is from where almost every trope of woke originally came.—
Bradley Gitz,
Arkansas Online,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Chinese research took a long while to recover from Mao’s purge of academe.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Noun
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As one of the nation’s most consequential legal thinkers and scholars, Heather Gerken has long directed her fierce intellect toward defending free and fair elections, a strong civic architecture, and the rule of law.—
Elizabeth Alexander,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
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Legal scholars hinge that false opinion on their false understanding of grammar.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Turner could not have known that his manifesto would define scholarly and popular understandings of American and western history for the next one hundred years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
To be clear, there is little credible scholarly evidence that EdTech, in general, improves learning outcomes, and no conclusive evidence that generative AI improves learning outcomes over traditional human teaching.—
Dr. Timothy Scott,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Without that information, conclusions about feasibility are at best speculative.—
Charles Rilli,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
-
When speculative trades piled in, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia were forced to abandon their currency pegs, triggering cascading defaults and deep economic contractions that were worsened by International Monetary Fund austerity programs.—
Anniek Bao,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The project was led by Xu Jianzhong, PhD, a CAS academician and engineering thermophysics expert.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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Authors call for a worldwide network of government leaders, UN agencies, scientists, academicians and the public, all designed to combat the spread of ultraprocessed foods, prioritizing children.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
18 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Academic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/academic. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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