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

Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. — Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 10 July 2026

Neuron by neuron, squid have brains about as complex as that of dogs, and along with octopuses and cuttlefish, are the most intelligent invertebrates in the world. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 9 July 2026

Matter has not transformed into intelligent substrate at this point. — Quanta Magazine, 9 July 2026

Today’s astro-weather encourages us to be emotionally intelligent without being evasive. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026