academic

[ ak-uh-dem-ik ]

/ ˌæk əˈdɛm ɪk /

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See synonyms for: academic / academics 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.

Academic, 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.

Academic, 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR academic

2 humanist, liberal.

3 theoretical.

See synonyms for academic on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of academic

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Acadēmicus, from Greek Akadēmeikós. See academy, academe, -ic

synonym study for academic

5. See formal¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM academic

an·ti·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective, nounin·ter·ac·a·dem·ic, adjectivenon·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective, nounpro·ac·a·dem·ic, adjective

pseu·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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use academic in a sentence

We knew that many academics today would consider our mission naïve.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She kept servants and, evidently, three slaves, and entertained academics and philosophers in an elite salon.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Breman kept calling doctors and academics, but there were no answers to be found.
The Original Ebola Hunter|Abby Haglage|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Tully, in his "Academics," introduces Varro himself giving us some light concerning the scope and design of those works.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals|John Dryden
They mean the realities of liberty and not the academics of theory.
The Art of Public Speaking|Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein
If the sophisms of Pyrrho and of the Academics are what annoys (troubles), we must apply the remedy to them.
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus With the Encheiridion|Epictetus
Margaret was the younger, somewhat delicate daughter of a family of rather strident academics.
Turn About Eleanor|Ethel M. Kelley
I noticed this wound very briefly and it was a matter of academics as to how he sustained the wound.
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for academic

academic

/ (ˌækəˈdɛmɪk) /

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 forms of academic

academically, 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

academic

OTHER WORDS FOR academic

Origin of academic

synonym study for academic

OTHER WORDS FROM academic

Words related to academic

How to use academic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for academic

Derived forms of academic