Synonyms of intelligent

intelligent

adjective

in-ˈte-lə-jənt 

1

as in smart

having or showing quickness of mind

proud parents typically insist that their child is intelligent way beyond his or her years

his intelligent response to the emergency averted a disaster

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smart
• clever
• quick
• brilliant
• fast
• exceptional
• bright
• sharp
• keen
• educated
• skilled
• wise
• nimble
• brainy
• alert
• quick-witted
• hyperintelligent
• cunning
• supersmart
• sharp-witted
• literate
• resourceful
• sensible
• ultrasmart
• insightful
• perceptive
• creative
• astute
• cerebral
• ingenious
• acute
• knowledgeable
• schooled
• learned
• savvy
• sagacious
• erudite
• informed
• logical
• rational
• scholarly
• discerning
• apt
• trained
• judicious
• prudent
• inventive
• knowing
• perspicacious
• reasonable
• sound
• sane
• genial
• sapient
• well-read
• shrewd
• heady
• wily
• crafty
• highbrow
• percipient
• sage
• foxy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unintelligent
• dumb
• stupid
• dense
• simple
• slow
• mindless
• brainless
• obtuse
• opaque
• soft
• vacuous
• dopey
• thick
• dull
• dim
• fatuous
• witless
• doltish
• brain-dead
• senseless
• weak-minded
• boneheaded
• thickheaded
• pinheaded
• dunderheaded
• softheaded
• foolish
• dorky
• feebleminded
• simpleminded
• idiotic
• silly
• slow-witted
• ignorant
• dim-witted
• unsmart
• moronic
• imbecile
• empty-headed
• gormless
• airheaded
• uneducated
• bubbleheaded
• half-witted
• knuckleheaded
• illiterate
• uninformed
• lunkheaded
• lamebrain
• thick-witted
• birdbrained
• unthinking
• chuckleheaded
• unbrilliant
• unintellectual
• nonintellectual
• untaught
• unacademic
• absurd
• insane
• lowbrow
• mad
• zany
• unwise
• crazy
• nutty
• preposterous
• wacky
• nonsensical
• cuckoo
• kooky
• loony
• fool
• daffy
• asinine
• dippy
• sappy
• daft
• harebrained
• half-baked
• balmy
• cockeyed
• boobish
• screwball
• crackpot
• dotty
• featherheaded
• tomfool

2

as in rational

having the ability to reason

there is some debate over whether dolphins are intelligent animals

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rational
• reasoning
• reasonable
• thinking
• logical
• mental
• analytic
• intellectual
• cerebral
• practical
• sensible
• cognitive
• brainy
• sane
• highbrow
• levelheaded
• cognitional
• highbrowed
• sober

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unintelligent
• irrational
• unreasonable
• unthinking
• nonrational
• dense
• dumb
• stupid
• unreasoning
• slow
• mindless
• obtuse
• brainless
• dull
• dopey
• fatuous
• senseless
• nonthinking
• dorky
• illogical
• doltish
• invalid
• thickheaded
• nonsensical
• fallacious
• groundless
• half-witted

3

as in discreet

having or showing good judgment and restraint especially in conduct or speech

the only intelligent response to such a tasteless joke is to quickly change the subject

Synonyms & Similar Words

• discreet
• cautious
• prudent
• judicious
• sensible
• circumspect
• judgmatic
• wise
• sane
• foresighted
• astute
• discerning
• sapient
• chary
• discriminating
• sagacious
• cozy
• perspicacious
• sage
• shrewd
• foresightful
• senseful
• provident
• forehanded
• forethoughtful
• canny

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• careless
• imprudent
• injudicious
• indiscreet
• rash
• heedless
• foolish
• shortsighted
• improvident
• unwise
• incautious

Synonym Chooser

How is the word intelligent distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of intelligent are alert, clever, and quick-witted. While all these words mean "mentally keen or quick," intelligent stresses success in coping with new situations and solving problems.

an intelligent person could assemble it fast

When is alert a more appropriate choice than intelligent?

While in some cases nearly identical to intelligent, alert stresses quickness in perceiving and understanding.

alert to new technology

When would clever be a good substitute for intelligent?

Although the words clever and intelligent have much in common, clever implies native ability or aptness and sometimes suggests a lack of more substantial qualities.

clever with words

When might quick-witted be a better fit than intelligent?

The words quick-witted and intelligent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quick-witted implies promptness in finding answers in debate or in devising expedients in moments of danger or challenge.

no match for his quick-witted opponent

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of intelligent

If California’s making the super-intelligent machines, then Boston can be the place where those machines are put to work doing things like assisting hospital patients and creating life-saving drugs. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 May 2026

Brown is, of course, the titular character here, a peppy and intelligent young lady who has a real panache for solving crimes and breaking the fourth wall during her many adventures. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 May 2026

Trade policy should resemble intelligent statecraft, not a medieval blood feud in which every nation — friend or adversary — is treated as an enemy. —Richard W. Rahn, Fortune, 27 May 2026

Trejbal is tall, athletic, intelligent and was highly productive this season in junior. —Corey Pronman, New York Times, 27 May 2026