1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mental
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Janay Reece, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
Ball said county police officers receive specialized crisis intervention training, including 40 hours of instruction focused on interacting with people who have autism and other intellectual or development disabilities.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
As a young woman, Stanton frequently visited her cousin Gerrit Smith, a militant abolitionist and an ally of John Brown, whose house in Peterboro, New York, was a hotbed for radical intellectuals.
—Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Officers and recruits receive instruction in de-escalation receive specialized training in behavioral health, crisis intervention, and interactions with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
—Janay Reece, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
Ball said county police officers receive specialized crisis intervention training, including 40 hours of instruction focused on interacting with people who have autism and other intellectual or development disabilities.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Noun
More than 400 intellectuals and students had demonstrated against the regime in a Capuchin monastery on the outskirts of Barcelona and were surrounded by police for two days.
—Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
As a young woman, Stanton frequently visited her cousin Gerrit Smith, a militant abolitionist and an ally of John Brown, whose house in Peterboro, New York, was a hotbed for radical intellectuals.
—Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
-
Both suffer from cerebral swelling (an oddly specific detail).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Rather than lean into the chaos the challenge seemed to demand, Jane went cerebral.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports.—
Mike Conley,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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For generations, 911 operators have been the backbone of the American emergency response network, answering calls for help, and then dispatching and coordinating police and firefighters, SWAT teams, mental-health counselors and animal-control officers.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Clubs will be able to draw training and support from White Ribbon, while the UK government will collaborate with the league and its foundation on educational resources.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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The information provided is for educational purposes and should not be construed as financial, investment or trading advice.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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On the surface, at least, all of that would seem to make Karaban entirely ill-suited for Hurley – the orderly, math nerd introvert versus the whirling dervish extrovert.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2026
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Which, basically, is a GEEK, or NERD, or BLERD (a Black nerd), or FANBOY, or FANGIRL, none of which are used here in any derogatory way, and are generally interchangeable.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.—
Paul Sanchez Ruiz,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
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Employers report rising demands for creativity and critical analysis while simultaneously expressing frustration that traditional academic pathways aren’t developing those traits.—
Elan Gepner-Dales,
Rolling Stone,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Similarly, each biennial project has its own creative architecture, shaped by its internal dynamics (history of experimentation, venues, budget, working conditions, and founders’ interests) as well as its location (the local culture, languages, regional geopolitics).—
Raphael Fonseca,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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Branch managers or internal human resources/labor relations employees handle those conversations.—
Chase Jordan
April 2,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Noun
-
Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Wagner would be a sleepless highbrow’s favorite; the long, lush, unbroken lines of music share with the white-noise hum of the air-conditioner or the thrum of the painstaking lecture the quality of being absorbing without offering undue eventfulness.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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