intelligent

[in-tel-i-juhnt]

See more synonyms for intelligent on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend, as persons or animals: an intelligent student.
displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment: an intelligent reply.
having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence: intelligent beings in outer space.

Computers. pertaining to the ability to do data processing locally; smart: An intelligent terminal can edit input before transmission to a host computer.Compare dumb(def 8).
Archaic. having understanding or knowledge (usually followed by of).

Origin of intelligent

1500–10; < Latin intelligent- (stem of intelligēns, present participle of intelligere, variant of intellegere to understand, literally, choose between), equivalent to intel- (variant of inter- inter-) + -lig- (combining form of leg-, stem of legere to pick up, choose; cf. lection) + -ent- -ent

Related formsin·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbhy·per·in·tel·li·gent, adjectivehy·per·in·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbnon·in·tel·li·gent, adjectivenon·in·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbpre·in·tel·li·gent, adjectivepre·in·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbqua·si-in·tel·li·gent, adjectivequa·si-in·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbsem·i-in·tel·li·gent, adjectivesem·i-in·tel·li·gent·ly, adverbsu·per·in·tel·li·gent, adjective

Can be confusedintelligent intelligible intellectual (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonyms for intelligent

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1. bright. Intelligent, intellectual describe distinctive mental capacity. Intelligent often suggests a natural quickness of understanding: an intelligent reader. Intellectual implies not only having a high degree of understanding, but also a capacity and taste for the higher forms of knowledge: intellectual interests. 2. astute, clever, alert, bright, apt, discerning, shrewd, smart. See sharp.

Antonyms for intelligent

1, 2. stupid.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for intelligent

imaginative, inventive, wise, brilliant, knowledgeable, resourceful, creative, bright, perceptive, smart, rational, brainy, well-informed, original, astute, able, acute, alert, alive, apt

Examples from the Web for intelligent

Contemporary Examples of intelligent

Governor Jindal seems like a good guy, intelligent, reasonable.
Why 2016’s Hopefuls Are Hopeless
P. J. O’Rourke
November 22, 2014
Vice President Jindal: “Here is a good, intelligent, and reasonable plan for legislative action.”
Why 2016’s Hopefuls Are Hopeless
P. J. O’Rourke
November 22, 2014
Genuinely funny and intelligent and navel-gazing and strange, these parts might eventually add up to something truly big.
Lars Iyer’s ‘Wittgenstein Jr.’ Plumbs the Deep Fun of Philosophical Fiction
Drew Smith
October 1, 2014
Beijing doesn't believe that the people of Hong Kong are intelligent enough to find their own way.
Is Hong Kong Tiananmen 2.0?
Brendon Hong
September 29, 2014
Large numbers believe that Kate is intelligent (49%) and even larger numbers (65%) saw her as a potentially positive role model.
Newsweek's Nonsense "Who'd Be Kate" Survey
Tom Sykes
September 26, 2014

Historical Examples of intelligent

It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and an intelligent people.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
He was handsome and possessed a most intelligent and expressive countenance.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Now it was another and older man, daring, intelligent, unscrupulous.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
He once had been friendly with all his intelligent neighbors, no matter what their nationality.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
To get justice, or even an intelligent hearing, from these people, was hopeless.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic

British Dictionary definitions for intelligent

intelligent

adjective

having or indicating intelligence
having high intelligence; clever
indicating high intelligence; perceptivean intelligent guess
guided by reason; rational
(of computerized functions) able to modify action in the light of ongoing events
(postpositive foll by of) archaic having knowledge or informationthey were intelligent of his whereabouts

Derived Formsintelligently, 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 intelligent

adj.

c.1500, a back-formation from intelligence or else from Latin intelligentem (nominative intelligens), present participle of intelligere, earlier intellegere (see intelligence). Intelligent design, as a name for an alternative to atheistic cosmology and the theory of evolution, is from 1999. Related: Intelligently.