intellectualism

American  

[in-tl-ek-choo-uh-liz-uhm] / ˌɪn tlˈɛk tʃu əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. devotion to intellectual pursuits.

2. the exercise of the intellect.

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

4. Philosophy.

   1. the doctrine that knowledge is wholly or chiefly derived from pure reason.

   2. the belief that reason is the final principle of reality.

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intellectualism British  

/ ˌɪntɪˈlɛktʃʊəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. development and exercise of the intellect

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

3. philosophy

   1. the doctrine that reason is the ultimate criterion of knowledge

   2. the doctrine that deliberate action is consequent on a process of conscious or subconscious reasoning

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Other Word Forms

• intellectualist noun
• intellectualistic adjective
• intellectualistically adverb
• nonintellectualism noun
• overintellectualism noun

Etymology

Origin of intellectualism

First recorded in 1820–30; intellectual + -ism

Example Sentences

The art world is all about elitist intellectualism — it’s a gross generalization, but it is true.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2023

With the death of Pope Benedict XI the Catholic world has lost an unrivalled receptacle of theological knowledge, intellectualism and lived experience.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2022

In Lauck’s telling, the region became a hotbed of intellectualism: Carnegie libraries flourished, local philosophical and literary societies emerged, schoolhouses were built, land-grant universities were founded.

From Washington Post • Dec. 7, 2022

It’s unsurprising, then, that Garamond has developed an association with the most trite, surface-level aesthetics of bookish intellectualism, and is subsequently considered a bit gauche by those in the know.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2022

It was her right to be upset, her right to choose not to brush her humiliation aside in the name of an overexalted intellectualism, and she would claim that right.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie