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

• academics
  plural

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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• academics
  plural

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

See Examples For:

academic academics

Mr. Warrack earned a degree in Renaissance history at the University of Warwick, but quickly realized he wasn’t suited for the life of an academic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

“The School of Law symposium operated within the protections of academic freedom and proceeded as planned, with its program, speakers and academic content unchanged,” Frenk wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

As we have argued in recent academic research, race and ethnicity data are key in understanding population health outcomes.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

That in turn means the 31-year-old mother of six has not had money for her children's school supplies as the new academic year begins.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Because as much as I sometimes hated being Jonah’s academic nemesis, I’d rather that than nothing.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

They were often doctors or academics who “knew the science,” but “that didn’t seem to matter.”

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026

As he’s spoken to audiences of government officials, diplomats, academics and journalists, Dans — who wears his Arctic commission lapel pin and exudes a professorial air — has also waded into foreign policy.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the weeks and months after Letby was convicted, questions about the case arose in the form of online conspiracy theories and discourse from serious academics, including medical experts and statisticians.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

His case highlights how China’s all-powerful state security system enforces opaque laws in unpredictable ways that raise risks for U.S. passport holders, all while Beijing works to court foreign investors, academics and tourists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

They serve as a kind of packing material in which academics, bureaucrats, and corporate mouthpieces clad their subject matter.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• academician
• lecturer
• professor
• scholar
• student