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
Of two Montana homesteaders at war over a gate installed on a private road, one is a nerd culture YouTuber who directs his fans’ ire toward the ever-present thorn in his side.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Only a nerd takes pleasure in responsibility, and we are firmly ensconced in an anti-nerd epoch.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
It was acquired by Brown-Forman in 1936 and promptly ruined by the company, according to today’s whiskey nerd standards, a few years later when it was turned into a blended whiskey (a category that was more popular at the time, and cheaper to make).
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 4 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Especially for comedy nerds, the behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working with legends like Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder might be familiar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nerd
Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Only a nerd takes pleasure in responsibility, and we are firmly ensconced in an anti-nerd epoch.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
It was acquired by Brown-Forman in 1936 and promptly ruined by the company, according to today’s whiskey nerd standards, a few years later when it was turned into a blended whiskey (a category that was more popular at the time, and cheaper to make).
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 4 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Especially for comedy nerds, the behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working with legends like Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder might be familiar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 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
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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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Few things are less tolerable to a southern conservative man—the contractor’s truck is mounted with a gun rack and emblazoned on the sides with a large American flag—than being made to feel small, especially by a liberal intellectual.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
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So said George Santayana, the Spanish-American philosopher who was a star Harvard professor before resettling in Europe and becoming an influential public intellectual.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nerd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerd. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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