as in nerds
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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Recent Examples of intellectuals
During the early to mid-20th century, Du Bois, based at what is now Clark Atlanta University, was among the most respected intellectuals in America.
—
Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
During both of his terms in office, Obama made extensive use of drone strikes in the pursuit of American military objectives in Afghanistan and the Middle East, leading to debate among Norwegian politicians and intellectuals about whether the prize had been a mistake.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026
As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Villainous weirdos like Bronze Age Pervert, Curtis Yarvin, or Jack Donovan who populate the ranks of far-right intellectuals are obsessed with their own fabulism about antiquity, reminding one of the murderous gaggle of privileged college kids in Donna Tart’s 1993 campus novel The Secret History.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
For four hours, the group of artists and intellectuals – many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years – reminisced, critiqued, argued, laughed and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026
Institutions like the Encyclopædia Britannica speak to the spirit that helped create an environment where intellectuals like them could flourish.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Subsequently, the loss of rights suffered by a wide range of Iranians—Baha'is, gays, feminists, dissenting intellectuals, and young people with non-ideological dreams—became a widespread loss of identity.
—Ramin Jahanbegloo, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
More than five hundred writers and intellectuals, including Sally Rooney, Rashid Khalidi, and Greta Thunberg, announced a boycott of the New York Times’s opinion section on account of its coverage of the war on Gaza.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
During both of his terms in office, Obama made extensive use of drone strikes in the pursuit of American military objectives in Afghanistan and the Middle East, leading to debate among Norwegian politicians and intellectuals about whether the prize had been a mistake.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026
As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Villainous weirdos like Bronze Age Pervert, Curtis Yarvin, or Jack Donovan who populate the ranks of far-right intellectuals are obsessed with their own fabulism about antiquity, reminding one of the murderous gaggle of privileged college kids in Donna Tart’s 1993 campus novel The Secret History.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
For four hours, the group of artists and intellectuals – many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years – reminisced, critiqued, argued, laughed and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026
Institutions like the Encyclopædia Britannica speak to the spirit that helped create an environment where intellectuals like them could flourish.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Subsequently, the loss of rights suffered by a wide range of Iranians—Baha'is, gays, feminists, dissenting intellectuals, and young people with non-ideological dreams—became a widespread loss of identity.
—Ramin Jahanbegloo, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
More than five hundred writers and intellectuals, including Sally Rooney, Rashid Khalidi, and Greta Thunberg, announced a boycott of the New York Times’s opinion section on account of its coverage of the war on Gaza.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectuals
Noun
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At risk of belaboring the Wallacaissaince, this is an especially fun conversation for structure nerds and systems heads.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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An array of charts buried in the fine print of the state budget, unknown to all but a few fiscal nerds, details what California has collected in revenues and spent over the last half-century.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Their designers are a bunch of obsessive geeks, in the best way possible, who take pride in producing designs no one else can touch.—
Jakob Schiller,
Outside,
16 Feb. 2026
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The stamp of the vaunted independent hip-hop label—which has built a reputation among its community of fanatical diehards and like-minded rap geeks for its lyric-forward, anti-commercial approach—can bring new eyes to a rapper overnight.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intellectuals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectuals. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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