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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerd
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
For the heartfelt poster nerd, this is where collecting grows most focussed, in the pursuit of works by an individual artist.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 16 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
Perhaps the most famous home in Los Angeles, The Stahl House, designed by modernist master Pierre Koenig, has inspired countless architecture nerds.
—Hadley Meares, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nerd
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
For the heartfelt poster nerd, this is where collecting grows most focussed, in the pursuit of works by an individual artist.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 16 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
Perhaps the most famous home in Los Angeles, The Stahl House, designed by modernist master Pierre Koenig, has inspired countless architecture nerds.
—Hadley Meares, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nerd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerd
Noun
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Their designers are a bunch of obsessive geeks, in the best way possible, who take pride in producing designs no one else can touch.—
Jakob Schiller,
Outside,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Jim described himself as a lifelong car geek, but his schoolteacher mother was a single parent.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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While the game remained popular among the elite its ornate imagery also continued to fascinate artists and intellectuals, laying the groundwork for symbolic interpretations.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
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Thea has taken on the mission of reforming Ejlert Lovborg (Alexander Hurt), Hedda’s former lover, a brilliant intellectual whose alcoholism has been in check under Thea’s steadying influence.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nerd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerd. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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