intellect
Americannoun
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the power or faculty of the mind by which one knows or understands, as distinguished from that by which one feels and that by which one wills; the understanding; the faculty of thinking and acquiring knowledge.
- Synonyms:
- common sense, sense, reason
-
capacity for thinking and acquiring knowledge, especially of a high or complex order; mental capacity.
-
a particular mind or intelligence, especially of a high order.
-
a person possessing a great capacity for thought and knowledge.
-
minds collectively, as of a number of persons or the persons themselves.
noun
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the capacity for understanding, thinking, and reasoning, as distinct from feeling or wishing
-
a mind or intelligence, esp a brilliant one
his intellect is wasted on that job
-
informal a person possessing a brilliant mind; brain
-
those possessing the greatest mental power
the intellect of a nation
Related Words
See mind.
Other Word Forms
- intellective adjective
- intellectively adverb
Etymology
Origin of intellect
1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin intellēctus, equivalent to intelleg(ere) “to understand” + -tus suffix of verbal action; intelligent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Yuriy was very smart. She really won him over with her intellect," Nina said.
From Barron's
This show looks at photographs of Gardner—both consciously staged and candid, and drawn from all periods of her life—to try to create a fuller picture of the woman and her intellect.
How horrifying to think of all that capability and intellect, unmoored from a conscience.
It was serious about the intellect but also playful, imaginative.
But intellect and curiosity did not pay for bread or coal, her uncle said, and just because his sister was dead shouldn’t mean he had to feed another mouth.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
