intellectualism

[ in-tl-ek-choo-uh-liz-uhm ]

/ ˌɪn tlˈɛk tʃu əˌlɪz əm /

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noun

devotion to intellectual pursuits.

the exercise of the intellect.

excessive emphasis on abstract or intellectual matters, especially with a lack of proper consideration for emotions.

Philosophy.

the doctrine that knowledge is wholly or chiefly derived from pure reason.
the belief that reason is the final principle of reality.

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Origin of intellectualism

First recorded in 1820–30; intellectual + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM intellectualism

in·tel·lec·tu·al·ist, nounin·tel·lec·tu·al·is·tic, adjectivein·tel·lec·tu·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·in·tel·lec·tu·al·ism, noun

o·ver·in·tel·lec·tu·al·ism, noun

Words nearby intellectualism

intellection, intellective, intellectronics, intellectual, intellectual disability, intellectualism, intellectuality, intellectualize, intellectually handicapped, intellectual property, intelligence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use intellectualism in a sentence

Since 1917, the two-year institution has taught students using a mix of cowboy grit and high intellectualism, a cocktail meant to prepare the world’s future leaders for a life of service to humanity.
This Elite Cowboy College Finally Let Women In. But Don’t Say It’s Changing.|jversteegh|November 1, 2021|Outside Online
And this mix of intellectualism and faithfulness is filling an unmet need among students on many of these campuses.
Can Christians Still Go to Harvard?|Kirsten Powers, Jonathan Merritt|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do they have a point, or are their complaints just anti-intellectualism run amok?
The Right’s War on Neil deGrasse Tyson|Tim Mak|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These are institutions that are meant to promote the pursuit of intellectualism and honesty.
Colleges Lawyer Up Before Claire McCaskill Rape Inquiry|Emily Shire|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But America's long tradition of anti-intellectualism helped him become a star religious entrepreneur.
Ken Ham: The Making of An American Religious Huckster|Karl W. Giberson|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There the American kids encounter high schools that are deeply, even shockingly, enamored of intellectualism.
Why the World Is Smarter Than Us|Dana Goldstein|August 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Here also appears clearly the anti-intellectualism of Crescas and his disagreement with Maimonides and Gersonides.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
The Kabbala was at first a protest against too much intellectualism and rigidity in religion.
Chapters on Jewish Literature|Israel Abrahams
If anywhere, therefore, it is in the psychology of religion that intellectualism is doomed to failure.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Intellectualism may not always be so clearly other-worldly as Plato shows himself to be in this passage.
The Behavior of Crowds|Everett Dean Martin
No doubt much of the gaiety, the delightful intellectualism of that pleasant refuge, had departed with the altering time.
The Makers of Modern Rome|Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

British Dictionary definitions for intellectualism

intellectualism

/ (ˌɪntɪˈlɛktʃʊəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

development and exercise of the intellect

the placing of excessive value on the intellect, esp with disregard for the emotions

philosophy

the doctrine that reason is the ultimate criterion of knowledge
the doctrine that deliberate action is consequent on a process of conscious or subconscious reasoning

Derived forms of intellectualism

intellectualist, noun, adjectiveintellectualistic, adjectiveintellectualistically, 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