academic

American  

[ak-uh-dem-ik] / ˌæk əˈdɛm ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a college, academy, school, or other educational institution.

   academic requirements.

2. pertaining to areas of study that are not primarily vocational or applied, as the humanities or pure mathematics.

   Synonyms:

   liberal, humanist

3. theoretical or hypothetical; not practical, realistic, or directly useful.

   an academic question;

   an academic discussion of a matter already decided.

4. learned or scholarly but lacking in worldliness, common sense, or practicality.

   Synonyms:

   theoretical

5. conforming to set rules, standards, or traditions; conventional.

   academic painting.

6. acquired by formal education, especially at a college or university.

   academic preparation for the ministry.

7. Academic, of or relating to Academe or to the Platonic school of philosophy.

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noun

1. a student or teacher at a college or university.

2. a person who is academic in background, attitudes, methods, etc..

   He was by temperament an academic, concerned with books and the arts.

3. Academic, a person who supports or advocates the Platonic school of philosophy.

4. academics, the scholarly activities of a school or university, as classroom studies or research projects.

   more emphasis on academics and less on athletics.

academic British  

/ ˌækəˈdɛmɪk /

adjective

1. belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy

2. of purely theoretical or speculative interest

   an academic argument

3. excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs

4. (esp of a schoolchild) having an aptitude for study

5. conforming to set rules and traditions; conventional

   an academic painter

6. relating to studies such as languages, philosophy, and pure science, rather than applied, technical, or professional studies

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noun

1. a member of a college or university

Synonym Usage

See formal.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonacademic
  adjective
• academically
  adverb
• semiacademic
  adjective
• pseudoacademic
  adjective
• subacademic
  adjective
• unacademic
  adjective
• antiacademic
  adjective
• quasi-academic
  adjective
• interacademic
  adjective
• proacademic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of academic

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Acadēmicus, from Greek Akadēmeikós. See academy, academe, -ic

Explanation

Something that is academic is related to school. Your parents might want to spend less time playing video games and more time focusing on academic pursuits. The noun academic refers to a professor or scholar. As a noun or an adjective, academic relates to book learning and not always in a good way. An academic discussion back in Plato's Academy was probably something better than what it has more recently come to mean: a discussion that's academic has no place in the real world; it's not practical. An academic might have a PhD in Robotics but not know how to work the TV. It doesn't have to mean stuffy, though, just related to college — like when you need an academic gown for graduation.

Example Sentences

Sick babies – who were considered unsuitable for adoption – were allowed to die at a church-run mother and baby home in Cumbria, according to a new study of documents by a leading academic.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

She expected to find that the Russian president spoke of the czars “a couple of dozen times,” Ms. Graaf recalls; perhaps she could base an academic paper on it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

I thought my findings, like many academic papers, would have limited lasting relevance in the fast-evolving world of business.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

This is illustrated in the chart above, which plots data from Jay Ritter, a University of Florida finance professor who has compiled the premier academic database of U.S.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

The way seventh grade worked, you were on an academic “team” with kids who took the same language.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

Related Words

• academician
• lecturer
• professor
• scholar
• student