intellect

noun

ˈin-tə-ˌlekt How to pronounce intellect (audio)
Definition of intellectnext
1
as in genius
a very smart person one of the finest intellects of our time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intelligence
the ability to learn and understand or to deal with problems a child of great intellect as well as artistic talent

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 intellect That far down the line, the brand should still represent creativity, beauty, culture, intellect and craftsmanship. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026 To a great degree, the forum is an ongoing conversation about how the norms of society constrain the intellect. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026 Beavis and Butt-Head function as a note-perfect satire of teenage confidence and idiocy, but the sharpness of the writing has always belied the bottom-of-the-barrel intellect of its title characters. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 The presentation was designed to work on the emotions as well as the intellect. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for intellect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellect
  1. genius
  2. intelligence
  3. wizard
  4. sense
  5. brain
  6. reason
  7. thinker
Noun
  • The Big Bang line that made the brand a household name grew into a smash hit after its creation by the industry’s famous marketing genius, Jean-Claude Biver, in 2005.
    — Simon de Burton, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In overtime, the Rams won the toss and elected to defend first, a decision that soon proved to be genius by coach Sean McVay.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of genius
Noun
  • The drills include amphibious landing, air and missile defense and mine sweeping, as well as intelligence gathering, logistics and resupply and casualty evacuation on several remote islands, including Tanegashima.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Other parts of government already contract out rocket launches, cloud storage, satellite intelligence and artificial-intelligence analysis to the tech sector.
    — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of intelligence
Noun
  • Pittol is an ice cream wizard, capable of distilling the essence of nearly any flavor into frozen dessert form.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Since his host has a strict rule about using human avatars in this environment, the bad guy now presents as the gentleman from The Blacklist rocking a wizard’s beard.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of wizard
Noun
  • Investors should also look at a fund's 30-day SEC yield to get a sense of what the company is generating in terms of income.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Government buildings were vandalized in multiple cities, contributing to a sense of national crisis that could boost leading far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen six months before elections.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of sense
Noun
  • The music on Uncle feels innate, as if Funkhouser had dug these songs out from deep within the crawlspace in his brain.
    — Jeff Yerger, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Detours and shortcuts in the brain The cells and synapses of the brain aren’t arranged in rigid, linear paths for each task and experience.
    — Sean Mccabe, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of brain
Noun
  • All the more reason for leaders to play the generosity sweepstakes in ways that are advantageous to them.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For that reason, Everett’s proposal is known as the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of reason
Noun
  • Most notably, some leading Chinese thinkers believe robotics could be the key to unlocking artificial general intelligence—systems capable of performing as well as or better than humans across most tasks.
    — Scott Singer, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Sanabria describes himself as an independent, free thinker who wants to help improve the City Beautiful and stay true to its character.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of thinker

Browse Nearby Words

integrity
intellect
intellection
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Intellect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellect. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All