appealing to or engaging the intellect: intellectual pursuits.
of or relating to the intellect or its use: intellectual powers.
possessing or showing intellect or mental capacity, especially to a high degree: an intellectual person.
guided or developed by or relying on the intellect rather than upon emotions or feelings; rational.
characterized by or suggesting a predominance of intellect: an intellectual way of speaking.
noun
a person of superior intellect.
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.
an extremely rational person; a person who relies on intellect rather than on emotions or feelings.
a person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher.
late 14c., "grasped by the understanding" (rather than by the senses), from Old French intellectuel and directly from Latin intellectualis "relating to the understanding," from intellectus "discernment, understanding," from past participle stem of intelligere "to understand, discern" (see intelligence). Intellectual property attested from 1845. Other adjective formations included intellective (late 15c.), intellectile (1670s).
intellectual
n.
1590s, "mind, intellect," from intellectual (adj.); sense of "an intellectual person" is from 1650s. Related: Intellectuals.
