1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in internal
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Laura Backstrom, Scientific American, 8 May 2025
Supporters praise his calm demeanor, intellectual rigor, and ability to navigate complex political terrain, often describing him as a stabilizing force in the Vatican.
—Hannah Parry
amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
During the dispute over Babri Masjid, Ashis Nandy, a prominent Indian intellectual, began a series of interviews with R.S.S. members.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Some community members relied on digital tools and workforce development and career services, while others gravitated towards cultural and intellectual offerings.
—Laura Backstrom, Scientific American, 8 May 2025
Supporters praise his calm demeanor, intellectual rigor, and ability to navigate complex political terrain, often describing him as a stabilizing force in the Vatican.
—Hannah Parry
amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Noun
This isn't exactly the Cultural Revolution, where Mao Zedong—distrustful of intellectuals and scientists—forced the country's best minds into menial labor.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
During the dispute over Babri Masjid, Ashis Nandy, a prominent Indian intellectual, began a series of interviews with R.S.S. members.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
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This is a person who was an extremely cerebral human being.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
-
The humor was of the cerebral, physical, cynical and quite often gallows varieties, but always heartfelt.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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The report noted that the Israeli military’s usage of the companies' AI in March 2024 was nearly 200 times higher than before the Oct. 7 attack, citing internal company information shared with the news organization.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
18 May 2025
-
The group, which had already begun a series of internal disciplinary actions, found that Figari sodomized his recruits and forced them to fondle him and one another.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
18 May 2025
Noun
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Luck is the scion of the football program, a lovable nerd who happened to be the best quarterback in football, aka the perfect Stanford athletics niche: smart and good.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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This is also a great game for nerd families to get together and play for an adventure or two after dinner but before bed.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Many highly skilled digital forensics professionals enter the discipline from diverse backgrounds in IT, law enforcement, military intelligence and law, bringing valuable perspectives that traditional academic paths might not provide.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
-
Her academic load is significant, and at various times, my wife and I have discussed with her the idea of scaling back her work to focus on school.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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The neurotic inner monologue can take up only so much of the page.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
19 May 2025
-
Regardless, this round of the series is not resonating with my adult, parenting self or my inner sullen teen, i.e. the part of my being that guides many of my rash decisions and dictates my slouchy posture.—
Lorraine Ali,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
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Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
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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
Adjective
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There have been TikTok videos, Reddit threads and scholarly essays, all dedicated to how that one scene traumatized us all.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
16 May 2025
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Graham Coop, the director of the university’s Center for Population Biology, was among nearly 250 new members announced last month by the academy, one of the nation’s oldest scholarly societies.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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This definition also includes instance in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (include due to the influence of drugs or alcohol) or because of age.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2025
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Without supervision or regulation, kids can easily stumble upon explicit material, including violent and extremist content, that can lead to mental distress, desensitization and a warped perception of the world around them.—
Richard Wistocki,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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