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

Shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverly said he was angered by the "tragic" death and said "a number of people at a number of academic institutions have serious questions to answer".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The Times and Telegraph newspapers have published several investigative articles into Arday's academic work and personal life.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

But after weeks of mounting evidence that Arday appeared to have repeatedly made up parts of his life story, as well as some of his academic credentials, Cambridge said it would launch an investigation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The judge said the lawsuit, filed in March, mostly focuses on incidents that took place in the 2023-24 academic year, with a few from March 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“I think your lessons were a great deal less academic than mine.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

At the Munich conference, Clark and Capocefalo met John Brockman, a literary agent of scientific books, who introduced Epstein to academics and Silicon Valley elites, according to Epstein documents recently released by the Justice Department.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

And while tech journalists and academics might pore over them trying to glean nuggets of meaning, these executive manifestos are not necessarily landing with the general public.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The scandal erupted after some academics and media reports accused Arday, who became Cambridge University's youngest Black professor in 2023, of plagiarizing parts of his doctoral thesis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

During the summer, Fields committed to Georgetown, where academics and athletics can lead to a great future.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

As it happens, Feldmans accidental study provides a window onto a form of cheating that has long stymied academics: white- collar crime.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• academician
• lecturer
• professor
• scholar
• student