1
as in geek
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
was such a nerd in college that she spent Saturday nights at the library
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intellectual
a person with strong intellectual interests
an unlikely romance between a nerd and a campus beauty queen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerd
As any die-hard fan of Reagan-era cinema will tell you, the 1983 hit revolved around a Seattle computer nerd named David Lightman, played by Matthew Broderick as dorky but in a sorta cute, pre-Ferris Bueller way.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2026
Tutoring the Cool Kid After tutoring the coolest kid in school, BJ (Storrie), high school nerd Dirkus (Marshall) gets an apology and — even better — an invite to sit at the cool kids’ table at lunch.
—Rima Parikh, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2026
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
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, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nerd
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2026
Tutoring the Cool Kid After tutoring the coolest kid in school, BJ (Storrie), high school nerd Dirkus (Marshall) gets an apology and — even better — an invite to sit at the cool kids’ table at lunch.
—Rima Parikh, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2026
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
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, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nerd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerd
Noun
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Part sports hangout, part brewpub, The Ram is the sort of wide-net concept that draws families, high school football fans and — back when craft IPAs were cool — even beer geeks.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Mar. 2026
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The day-long geek fest features various activities and exhibitors, including cosplay contests for different age brackets and San Antonio filmmakers sharing their works.—
René Guzman,
San Antonio Express-News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As a young woman, Stanton frequently visited her cousin Gerrit Smith, a militant abolitionist and an ally of John Brown, whose house in Peterboro, New York, was a hotbed for radical intellectuals.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
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China’s politicians and intellectuals are embracing the Greek and Roman classics just as the study of these subjects declines in the West.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nerd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerd. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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