as in literati
intellectuals considered as a social class
a presidential candidate who was the darling of the intelligentsia—and very few others
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intelligentsia
Popular opinion was also shaped by an overwhelmingly left-leaning intelligentsia created and shaped by the long national struggle against European imperialism.
—
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
This connects to how the intelligentsia used to say AI art could never replace human art.
—James Barrat, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
All or nothing For most of the Russian nationalist intelligentsia, Alaska is less a jewel to be recovered than a warning against any concession to the West.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Ferlinghetti was a veteran both of D-Day, in World War II, and of the left-wing intelligentsia that arose after the war.
—Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
This connects to how the intelligentsia used to say AI art could never replace human art.
—James Barrat, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
All or nothing For most of the Russian nationalist intelligentsia, Alaska is less a jewel to be recovered than a warning against any concession to the West.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Ferlinghetti was a veteran both of D-Day, in World War II, and of the left-wing intelligentsia that arose after the war.
—Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intelligentsia
Noun
-
Then there was an urban-rural divide, the urban elite versus the rural majority in the country.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a darling of the Silicon Valley tech elite, polled at 3%.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
They are ruled by a grizzled and sclerotic clerisy that funnels resources to its private army, the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).—
Matthew Continetti,
National Review,
24 Sep. 2022
-
Democrats and the public-health clerisy denounced President Trump for rushing Covid vaccines.—
Allysia Finley,
WSJ,
4 Sep. 2022
Noun
-
Congratulations to the new members-elect.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Louis Koo enters the franchise in the 2017 thread as Chief Executive-elect Adrian Yip Shun-ting.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intelligentsia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intelligentsia. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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