academic 1 of 2

variants also academical
Definition of academicnext
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

academic

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of academic
Adjective
Some institutions, like the University of Arizona, are intentionally lowering class sizes to improve academic performance and graduation rates, while reducing scholarship expenses and national recruitment burdens. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 20 June 2026 However, Heather Harper, a spokeswoman for UC Health — which oversees six academic health centers including UCSD — countered those claims to the La Jolla Light this week. Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2026
Noun
His obsessive quest would take him from gastroenterology clinics to international scientific conferences, define his career as an academic, and capture the attention of global pharmaceutical companies. Sara Talpos — Undark, STAT, 1 June 2026 The team combines expertise from engineering science, philosophy and experimental psychology, supported by the University of Oxford senior academics combining academic rigor with Polestar’s automotive expertise. New Atlas, 29 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for academic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for academic
Adjective
  • The 23rd annual Sacramento Juneteenth celebration filled William Land Park on Saturday with a parade of 15 contingents and a festival with educational exhibits on Black American history.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 22 June 2026
  • The fire began on Monday, June 22, in a commercial building that included an educational center, pet shop and veterinary clinic in the city of Lucknow, The Associated Press, The New York Times and Reuters reported.
    Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026
Adjective
  • The economy was shifting from industrial to intellectual — knowledge workers wanted meaning, autonomy, and vision.
    Lewis Schiff, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • Over time, some worry, the next generation of mathematicians may suffer from a form of intellectual atrophy, unable to think outside the AI box that trained them.
    Benjamin Skuse, IEEE Spectrum, 25 June 2026
Adjective
  • Just as hedgehogs deplore foxes for a lack of theoretical ambition, foxes spend their time screaming at hedgehogs for missing this or that eloquent detail.
    Clare Bucknell, The New York Review of Books, 27 June 2026
  • The researchers found that the measurements matched theoretical calculations, thereby serving as evidence that thorium atoms can bind with each other.
    Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 26 June 2026
Noun
  • And in the academe, there is a growing demand for nuclear science education.
    Lorela U. Sandoval, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026
  • Different goals lead to different strategies The differences between industry and academe begin with a divergence in purpose.
    Maysam Ghovanloo, IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2026
Noun
  • For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era.
    ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
  • Debate over the World War I-era killings, widely seen by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century, now collides with international accusations over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Adjective
  • The sessions aim to pair scholarly depth with a casual, social atmosphere.
    Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 24 June 2026
  • According to Mercy Fash and Emani Campbell’s emerging scholarly research at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, this intersection is worthy of greater attention because of an exacerbated threat that could severely harm Black women.
    Richard Fowler, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Adjective
  • Your 5th House of Creativity takes center stage as the instinctive Moon squares cerebral Mercury in your 2nd House of Money and Values.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2026
  • By age 18, Davis’s parents had both died within 11 months of each other — his mother, Florence, of a cerebral hemorrhage, his father, Herman, of a heart attack.
    Dan Hyman, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2026
Adjective
  • Every speculative boom eventually ends.
    Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • The next presidential election is more than two years away, but a speculative roster of names for both major parties has already emerged, with Newsom near the top of the list for the Democrats.
    Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 26 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Academic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/academic. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on academic

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster