literati
Americanplural noun
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people engaged in literary pursuits, especially professional writers.
The lounge at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City was a well-known haunt of the literati during the 1920s.
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learned people and scholars considered as a class.
university literati in their ivory tower.
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of literati
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin līterāti, litterāti “learned, liberally educated people,” noun use of plural of līterātus, litterātus; see origin at literate
Explanation
If you're educated and love books, you can describe yourself as being a member of the literati. The literati is a highly intelligent group of bookish people. The literati is a somewhat glamorous group, known for being very smart and well-read. You could include famous authors, editors, poets, critics, and scholars of literature among the collective group known as the literati. The word is the plural form of the Latin literatus, which means "lettered or educated," or literally "one who knows letters." Related words in English include letter and literate.
Vocabulary lists containing literati
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now, a coalition of legislators, scientists, business owners, artists and Florida literati is—wait for it—wading in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
What was supporting the grand mansions and the literati in England in the middle of the 19th century?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
In the world of literature, for example, authors who are “othered” outside of the elite literati typically are boxed into othering themselves just to parlay their creativity into a career.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2023
When East Coast literati ask themselves this question, they often answer: Joan Didion.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2023
The Velascos presided over a coterie of literati at Burgos; the Duke of Villahermosa, at Zaragoza, affected to delight in the company of the brilliant and learned.
From Southern Spain by Calvert, A. F. (Albert Frederick)
Latest literatus to attempt this particular impossibility is Author Golding who plants his small potatoes in neat rows on either side Magnolia Street.
From Time Magazine Archive
For all his poverty, his neuroses, he saw life more wholly than perhaps any other literatus of his time.
From Time Magazine Archive
British critics have just discovered "a major dramatist" who turns out to be that old literatus of the libido, David Herbert Lawrence.
From Time Magazine Archive
For Mae, who fancies herself no end as a literatus and has always jealously insisted on authoring her own scripts, this time took a tip from Producer Cowan.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is the hint, statement, not only of the great literatus, his book, but of every great artist.
From Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Whitman, Walt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
