in·tel·lec·tu·al
ˌin-tə-ˈlek-chə-wəl 
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü(-ə)l
1
2
a
: given to study, reflection, and speculation
b
: engaged in activity requiring the creative use of the intellect
intellectual playwrights
1
: an intellectual person
2
intellectuals plural, archaic
: intellectual powers
Synonyms
Examples of intellectual in a Sentence
Adjective
the social and intellectual life of the campus
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
Noun
He thinks that he's an intellectual, but he doesn't know what he's talking about.
She's a hard worker but she's no great intellectual.
a café where artists and intellectuals mingle
Recent Examples on the Web
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
The American Academy of Sciences & Letters has announced the 10 recipients of this year’s Barry Prize, given to scholars at U.S. colleges and universities for distinguished intellectual achievements in the arts, sciences and learned professions.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2024
And one of the main things that happened during the Cultural Revolution was that certain classes of people — intellectuals, people with money, people with land — were sort of coaxed into, for the first time in their lives, telling the truth.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for intellectual 
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Adjective
Nevertheless, much of his own theoretical work emerged from a distinct but related intellectual tradition, the post-Keynesian school, which was originally associated with some left-leaning British followers of John Maynard Keynes.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
The American Academy of Sciences & Letters has announced the 10 recipients of this year’s Barry Prize, given to scholars at U.S. colleges and universities for distinguished intellectual achievements in the arts, sciences and learned professions.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
In April 2024, less than a year after the school’s founding, more than 5,000 people, primarily students but also outraged intellectuals of different ages, immediately signed a petition against the school’s name.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2024
And one of the main things that happened during the Cultural Revolution was that certain classes of people — intellectuals, people with money, people with land — were sort of coaxed into, for the first time in their lives, telling the truth.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for intellectual
Articles Related to intellectual
Dictionary Entries Near intellectual
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectual. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
intellectual
1 of 2 adjective
in·tel·lec·tu·al
ˌint-ᵊl-ˈek-ch(ə-w)əl
1
: relating to the intellect or understanding
2
: having intellect to a high degree : engaged in or given to learning and thinking
an intellectual person
3
: requiring study and thought
intellectual games
intellectual
2 of 2 noun
: an intellectual person
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