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intellectualism

[in-tl-ek-choo-uh-liz-uh m]
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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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Origin of intellectualism

First recorded in 1820–30; intellectual + -ism
Related formsin·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, nouno·ver·in·tel·lec·tu·al·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for intellectualist

Historical Examples

  • We may note at once, however, that it is not an ‘intellectualist’ ideal.

    The Legacy of Greece

    Various

  • Theory is a possession of the theorist, intellect of the intellectualist.

  • Your intellectualist is not to be blamed if he fails to write as a sentimentalist.

  • Since Meredith is an intellectualist, we naturally ask what may be his philosophy.

  • You are no longer an intellectualist, but a voice of France.

British Dictionary definitions for intellectualist

intellectualism

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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Derived Formsintellectualist, 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

Word Origin and History for intellectualist

intellectualism

n.

1829; see intellectual + -ism. Probably based on German Intellektualismus (said by Klein to have been coined 1803 by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775-1854) from Late Latin intellectualis). In English, originally with reference to the doctrines of Leibnitz.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper