Synonyms of intellectuals

intellectuals

noun

plural of intellectual

as in nerds

a person with strong intellectual interests

discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nerds
• intellectualists
• highbrows
• geeks
• longhairs
• blues
• wizards
• intellects
• intellectualizers
• Brahmins
• sages
• thinkers
• bluestockings
• double-domes
• mandarins
• brains
• geniuses
• pseuds
• whizzes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• philistines
• lowbrows
• imbeciles
• morons
• anti-intellectuals
• dummies
• blockheads
• dolts
• dopes
• simpletons
• dunces
• pinheads
• dumbbells
• nitwits
• fatheads
• half-wits

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of intellectuals

Scholars and intellectuals have long argued that the rejection and hatred of Haitians by some sections of Dominican society are actually a rejection of the Blackness that Haitian identity and culture represents. — Kendall Medford, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026

For the artists and intellectuals who lived there across two decades of pioneering residency programs, Georgia’s Ossabaw Island was a potent source of inspiration. — The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026

Latin became the language of administration in the western half of the empire—the language used by politicians, soldiers, and intellectuals. — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2026

León-Portilla wrote extensively about the conquest of Mexico from the Mexica viewpoint, documented the philosophy of Aztec intellectuals and analyzed poems in Nahuatl — the language of the Mexica empire. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

These brilliant intellectuals apparently have nothing to do except make the Republican Party look better, stronger, smarter, more powerful and more mature than their beloved Democratic Party. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026

Capp’s flagship class on the Vietnam War’s impact on American religion and culture became a national sensation, drawing praise from members of Congress, television news anchors, and public intellectuals. — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026

Not in the esoteric way that speaks to intellectuals and insiders. — Robin Givhan, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026

Recent developments have made new an old idea that emerged among nineteenth-century intellectuals in tsarist Russia who rebelled against the elite fixation with the West. — Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026