cerebral
Americanadjective
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Anatomy, Zoology. of or relating to the cerebrum or the brain.
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betraying or characterized by the use of the intellect rather than intuition or instinct.
His is a cerebral music that leaves many people cold.
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Phonetics. retroflex.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to the cerebrum or to the entire brain
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involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct
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phonetics another word for cacuminal
noun
Discover More
The term is also used figuratively to describe things that appeal to the intellect.
Other Word Forms
- cerebrally adverb
- intercerebral adjective
- noncerebral adjective
- overcerebral adjective
- postcerebral adjective
- precerebral adjective
- subcerebral adjective
- supercerebral adjective
- supercerebrally adverb
Etymology
Origin of cerebral
From the New Latin word cerebrālis, dating back to 1795–1805. See cerebrum, -al 1
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.
Planning is for weaklings, rational analysis is disdained, the amygdala and the gut replace the cerebral cortex.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
On Tuesday the FDA said it was in fact approving use of leucovorin for a rare condition called cerebral folate deficiency but not for autism.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
My brother, who has cerebral palsy and is developmentally disabled, is two years older than I am.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026
But devotees do want someone called “Sherlock Holmes” to have some passing resemblance to the character they know—the coolly cerebral detective whose self-containment is as pronounced as his deductions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
Stuart Hutchison, thirty- four, attired in a Ren and Stimpy T-shirt, was a cerebral, somewhat wonkish Canadian cardiologist on leave from a research fellowship.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
