academic

[ak-uh-dem-ik]

See more synonyms for academic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or relating to a college, academy, school, or other educational institution, especially one for higher education: academic requirements.
pertaining to areas of study that are not primarily vocational or applied, as the humanities or pure mathematics.
theoretical or hypothetical; not practical, realistic, or directly useful: an academic question; an academic discussion of a matter already decided.

learned or scholarly but lacking in worldliness, common sense, or practicality.
conforming to set rules, standards, or traditions; conventional: academic painting.
acquired by formal education, especially at a college or university: academic preparation for the ministry.
(initial capital letter) of or relating to Academe or to the Platonic school of philosophy.

noun

a student or teacher at a college or university.
a person who is academic in background, attitudes, methods, etc.: He was by temperament an academic, concerned with books and the arts.
(initial capital letter) a person who supports or advocates the Platonic school of philosophy.
academics, the scholarly activities of a school or university, as classroom studies or research projects: more emphasis on academics and less on athletics.

Origin of academic

1580–90; < Latin Acadēmicus < Greek Akadēmeikós. See academy, academe, -ic

Related formsan·ti·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective, nounin·ter·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivenon·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective, nounpro·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivepseu·do·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivequa·si-ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivesem·i·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivesub·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectiveun·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective

Synonyms for academic

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2. humanistic, liberal. 4. theoretical. 5. See formal¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for academics

lecturer, professor, scholar, student, academician, tutor, pupil, scholastic

Examples from the Web for academics

Contemporary Examples of academics

The media and academics love to portray these voters as the typical independent when they represent less than half of them.
Yes, Independent Swing Voters Are Real. And May Decide Who Wins Elections
Linda Killian
November 3, 2014
Breman kept calling doctors and academics, but there were no answers to be found.
The Original Ebola Hunter
Abby Haglage
September 14, 2014
It would be an immediate object of, as academics often put it, “contestation.”
We've Got Bigger Problems Than a Confederate Flag
John McWhorter
August 28, 2014
Indeed in 1947 a group of academics at the University of Chicago drafted a constitution for “the Federal Republic of the World.”
One U.S. Constitution Just Wasn’t Enough
Tom Arnold-Forster
July 4, 2014
I think social banditry, as the academics call it, is a proud American tradition.
Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away
Abby Haglage
April 9, 2014

Historical Examples of academics

Their followers were called, respectively, Academics and Cynics.
Aristotle and Ancient Educational Ideals
Thomas Davidson
Some of our young students will be telling me perhaps that I have overlooked the Academics.
The Mormon Doctrine of Deity
B. H. Roberts
However, the right to hack shouldnt only be extended to academics.
Little Brother
Cory Doctorow
Moreover, the Academics had allowed the possibility of probable knowledge.
A Critical History of Greek Philosophy
W. T. Stace
Plutarch's word is κατάληψις, the word that was used by the Academics.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume II
Aubrey Stewart & George Long

British Dictionary definitions for academics

academic

adjective

belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy
of purely theoretical or speculative interestan academic argument
excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs
(esp of a schoolchild) having an aptitude for study
conforming to set rules and traditions; conventionalan academic painter
relating to studies such as languages, philosophy, and pure science, rather than applied, technical, or professional studies

noun

a member of a college or university

Derived Formsacademically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for academics

academic

adj.

1580s, "relating to an academy," also "collegiate, scholarly," from Latin academicus "of the Academy," from academia (see academy). Meaning "theoretical, not practical, not leading to a decision" (such as university debates or classroom legal exercises) is from 1886. Academic freedom is attested from 1901. Related: Academically.