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intelligentsia

[ in-tel-i-jent-see-uh, -gent- ]
/ ɪnˌtɛl ɪˈdʒɛnt si ə, -ˈgɛnt- /
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plural noun
intellectuals considered as a group or class, especially as a cultural, social, or political elite.
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Origin of intelligentsia

1905–10; <Russian intelligéntsia<Latin intelligentiaintelligence
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use intelligentsia in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for intelligentsia

intelligentsia
/ (ɪnˌtɛlɪˈdʒɛntsɪə) /

noun
the intelligentsia the educated or intellectual people in a society or community

Word Origin for intelligentsia

C20: from Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intellegentia intelligence
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

Cultural definitions for intelligentsia

intelligentsia
[ (in-tel-uh-jent-see-uh) ]

Intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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