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

Related Words

See formal.

Other Word Forms

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

Academic experts say the system’s secrecy is by design.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026

In March, 28,000 Academic Student Employees represented by UAW 4811 also approved a new contract.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Academic research, however, suggests that the way innovation really works is more complex—and more collaborative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Academic and author on workplace culture, Tamara Myles, says hustle culture is unsustainable, especially if people feel compelled to be working at all times.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026

Academic types drifted down from Boston, looked around, began explaining things to each other, and the place was off and running.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• academician
• lecturer
• professor
• scholar
• student