brainy

American  

[brey-nee] / ˈbreɪ ni /

adjective

Informal.

brainier, brainiest

1. intelligent; clever; intellectual.

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brainy British  

/ ˈbreɪnɪ /

adjective

1. informal clever; intelligent

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Other Word Forms

• brainily adverb
• braininess noun

Etymology

Origin of brainy

First recorded in 1835–45; brain + -y ¹

Example Sentences

In 1978, the New Yorker called Keaton “one of the most comedically pure and brainy actresses in our midst.”

From The Wall Street Journal

China’s advantage lies in the scale of its ambition, not only in the nation’s brainy tech hubs but also in areas such as Jingzhou, a city of five million people on the Yangtze River.

From The Wall Street Journal

What do you get for the brainy science lover who seems to know everything?

From The Wall Street Journal

At 12, the brainy boy who read the World Almanac for pleasure appeared on the popular radio show “Quiz Kids.”

From Los Angeles Times

Sir Stephen Fry lived up to his brainy reputation over breakfast, by predicting the chessboard was back: "I could be a knight - oh, I already am," he joked.

From BBC

Related Words

• brilliant