intellectual

[in-tl-ek-choo-uhl]

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.

noun

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

/ 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

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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of intellectual¹

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

Synonym Study

See intelligent.

Example Sentences

Trade’s most vital contribution was intellectual, giving these cultures access to ideas, methods and technologies they couldn’t have developed alone.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Nobel prizes in the sciences are the result of intellectual capital built over decades of hard work and research.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“Who decides if the intellectual environment is vigorous and open-ended? This is not something the federal government should be involved in and adjudicating,” he said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“The thing about Wikipedia is everything about how we’ve designed it…gives us a really strong degree of intellectual independence,” he said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

American dominance of AI funding threatens Europe with the prospect that the U.S. may end up controlling the intellectual property and economic gains of technology developed in the region.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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