as in intelligence
the ability to learn and understand or to deal with problems
you have the brains to figure out that problem on your own
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Recent Examples of brains
Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Words in Chinese or Swahili could be streamed to our brains in real time.
—Alan Lightman
september 12, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
With the Games requiring so much complex and advanced planning years in advance in order to make sure things run smoothly, Park says the brains behind the Games are always looking ahead to future cities.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Then there’s the education producing the brains.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
Flowers of the Cristata group look like hairy brains.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
Here, played by the black actress Karen Bryson, the character is all brains and sass.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
The findings suggest omega-3s may uniquely protect women’s brains, but more research is needed.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
As the core, the middle, if not the brains of the Dolphins’ defense, that’s the goal heading into the 2025 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Our brains evolve against friction, which means challenges that are difficult enough to promote growth but not so overwhelming as to cause surrender.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Words in Chinese or Swahili could be streamed to our brains in real time.
—Alan Lightman
september 12, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
With the Games requiring so much complex and advanced planning years in advance in order to make sure things run smoothly, Park says the brains behind the Games are always looking ahead to future cities.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Then there’s the education producing the brains.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
Flowers of the Cristata group look like hairy brains.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
Here, played by the black actress Karen Bryson, the character is all brains and sass.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
The findings suggest omega-3s may uniquely protect women’s brains, but more research is needed.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
As the core, the middle, if not the brains of the Dolphins’ defense, that’s the goal heading into the 2025 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brains
Noun
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Managing and interpreting the flood of data would be impossible without machine intelligence.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Counterterrorism strategies must continue to adapt to meet this evolving battleground, leveraging not only military and intelligence tools but also public-private partnerships with tech platforms, AI monitoring, and global diplomacy.—
Richard Frankel,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Michèle comes across as a singular and powerful personality, with something of Akerman’s own trenchant intellect, assertive candor, and vulnerable self-revelation.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
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With his new book, Pan, Clune has turned his cockeyed sensibility and coruscating intellect to fiction.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Your base is the foundation of any makeup look, but in the year 2025, that doesn’t have to include actual foundation—at least not in the traditional sense.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Instead of clarity and a sense of financial empowerment, individuals experience costly missteps and are left unsure of where to find reliable guidance—eroding any trust in the mainstream financial system.—
Sandy Anderson,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In many cases, the two reasons amount to the same thing, with the same cause.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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The second reason is that these aura battler designs were very complex and full of curves as well as weird angles.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If this trajectory continues, by 2030, AI could potentially complete in days what are currently months-long projects requiring human brainpower.—
Dana Suskind,
Time,
27 Aug. 2025
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Such models have evolved from simple labor arbitrage to outsourced R&D, leveraging the high-quality and scalable brainpower of countries like India.—
Rajat Sharma,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But the county’s fire union contends the switch saps Fire Rescue funds from long-term plans to add fire trucks, stations and crews in areas of the county needing better coverage to lower response times.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
23 Aug. 2025
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Nothing saps the energy out of a corporate initiative faster than inertia.—
Amy Volz,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brains. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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