intellectual

American  

[in-tl-ek-choo-uhl] / ˌɪn tlˈɛk tʃu əl /

adjective

1. appealing to or engaging the intellect.

   intellectual pursuits.

   Synonyms:

   mental

2. of or relating to the intellect or its use.

   intellectual powers.

   Synonyms:

   mental

3. possessing or showing intellect or mental capacity, especially to a high degree.

   an intellectual person.

4. guided or developed by or relying on the intellect rather than upon emotions or feelings; rational.

5. characterized by or suggesting a predominance of intellect.

   an intellectual way of speaking.

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noun

• intellectuals
  plural

1. a person of superior intellect.

2. a person who places a high value on or pursues things of interest to the intellect or the more complex forms and fields of knowledge, as aesthetic or philosophical matters, especially on an abstract and general level.

3. an extremely rational person; a person who relies on intellect rather than on emotions or feelings.

4. a person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher.

5. Archaic. intellectuals,

   1. the mental faculties.

   2. things pertaining to the intellect.

intellectual British  

/ ˌɪntɪˈlɛktʃʊəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the intellect, as opposed to the emotions

2. appealing to or characteristic of people with a developed intellect

   intellectual literature

3. expressing or enjoying mental activity

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noun

1. a person who enjoys mental activity and has highly developed tastes in art, literature, etc

2. a person who uses or works with his intellect

3. a highly intelligent person

intellectual Cultural  

1. A person who engages in academic study or critical evaluation of ideas and issues. (See intelligentsia.)

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Synonym Usage

See intelligent.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hyperintellectualness
  noun
• intellectuality
  noun
• intellectualness
  noun
• nonintellectualness
  noun
• overintellectualness
  noun
• half-intellectual
  adjective
• hyperintellectual
  adjective
• nonintellectual
  adjective
• overintellectual
  adjective
• preintellectual
  adjective
• quasi-intellectual
  adjective
• semi-intellectual
  adjective
• superintellectual
  adjective
• unintellectual
  adjective
• half-intellectually
  adverb
• hyperintellectually
  adverb
• intellectually
  adverb
• nonintellectually
  adverb
• overintellectually
  adverb
• preintellectually
  adverb
• quasi-intellectually
  adverb
• semi-intellectually
  adverb
• superintellectually
  adverb
• unintellectually
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• intellectuals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of intellectual

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin intellēctuālis, equivalent to intellēctu-, stem of intellēctus intellect + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

The adjective intellectual describes something related to or using the mind or intellect. Your creative pursuit of singing in a rock band is different from your intellectual interest in 16th-century drama. Intellectual is often used to describe intensive reasoning and deep thinking, particularly in relation to subjects that tend to spark deep discussion, such as literature or philosophy. An intellectual is also a noun for a cerebral or brainy person who engages in deep thinking, like Plato, Albert Einstein, or your classmate who can speak at length about the relationship between French existentialism and ice hockey.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intellectual intellectuals

He also has experience managing intellectual property and turning brands into movies and TV shows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Seo, who has an intellectual disability, struggles to form long sentences and can only communicate through brief words and gestures.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Filmmakers Jack Auen and Kevin Walker — who operate under the name Cosmic Salon — make movies in the belief that intellectual pursuits can be both exciting and cinematic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

That shift is positive on balance: Students gain access to an intellectual breadth once available only at elite institutions, while universities are pushed toward the harder task of cultivating judgment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Norse mythology and Greek mythology together give a clear picture of what the people were like from whom comes a major part of our spiritual and intellectual inheritance.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Born in Minnesota, Bill Niman found himself in Bolinas in 1969, where he befriended lefty intellectuals who were critical of factory farming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

In 1993 Hutu intellectuals at the National University of Rwanda accused the Tutsi-associated Rwandan Patriotic Front of genocide.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Otero Alcantara, a self-taught performance artist, sculptor and painter, rose to prominence in 2020 as leader of the San Isidro protest movement of artists and intellectuals.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Instead, she places Black Americans, Black intellectuals, and Black constitutional struggle where they have always belonged: at the center of the 14th Amendment.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

One of the key groups that spread these teachings was founded in the 1530s: the Jesuit order, a collection of highly trained intellectuals well suited to attack Protestantism.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• cerebral
• creative
• highbrow
• mental
• psychological
• rational
• scholarly
• thoughtful