Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scholarly
Explanation
Someone who's scholarly is a serious student. You can describe your studious friend who's always working on a research paper or reading a huge book as scholarly. Use the adjective scholarly when you talk about a person who is focused on learning — in other words, a scholar. You can also describe things that relate to studying or knowledge as scholarly, like a scholarly article in a journal or a scholarly atmosphere in a library. The Old English word scolere, or "student," is the root of both scholar and scholarly, from the Latin word for school, schola.
Vocabulary lists containing scholarly
Chapter 1: What Does a Historian Do?
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Applications go first to peer experts, who evaluate scholarly merit.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
Fidelity to Moliere's creative process and scholarly rigour were at the heart of the project, said Pierre‑Marie Chauvin, a vice president at the Sorbonne.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
“The Devil Wears Prada” taught me to appreciate film in a profound, scholarly way that would later become my life’s driving force.
From Salon • May 1, 2026
He described Shine as "a very nice, quiet, honest person" who is "scholarly, studies a lot".
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
On and off, he continued his efforts to attract scholarly interest.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
