INTELLECTUAL: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for INTELLECTUAL?

Need another word that means the same as “intellectual”? Find 36 synonyms and 30 related words for “intellectual” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Intellectual” are: noetic, rational, cerebral, mental, cognitive, intelligent, clever, academic, well educated, well read, erudite, learned, knowledgeable, literary, bookish, donnish, highbrow, scholarly, studious, cultured, cultivated, civilized, enlightened, sophisticated, intellect, bookworm, bookish person, man of letters, woman of letters, bluestocking, thinker, brain, scholar, sage

Intellectual as a Noun

Definitions of "Intellectual" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “intellectual” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A person who uses the mind creatively.
• A person possessing a highly developed intellect.

Synonyms of "Intellectual" as a noun (12 Words)

academic	An educator who works at a college or university. The EU offers grants to academics for research on approved projects.
bluestocking	An intellectual or literary woman. A Victorian bluestocking.
bookish person	A grammatical category used in the classification of pronouns, possessive determiners, and verb forms according to whether they indicate the speaker, the addressee, or a third party.
bookworm	A person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit.
brain	An electronic device with functions comparable to those of the human brain. He s got plenty of brains but no common sense.
highbrow	A highbrow person. She considered all those without television as highbrows intellectual snobs or paupers.
intellect	Knowledge and intellectual ability. He has a keen intellect.
man of letters	One of the British Isles in the Irish Sea.
sage	Used in names of aromatic plants of the mint family that resemble sage e g wood sage.
scholar	A student who holds a scholarship. A Hebrew scholar.
thinker	An important intellectual. She was not a thinker but she had common sense.
woman of letters	Women as a class.

Usage Examples of "Intellectual" as a noun

• A prominent political thinker and intellectual.

Intellectual as an Adjective

Definitions of "Intellectual" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “intellectual” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Relating to the intellect.
• Involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct.
• Possessing a highly developed intellect.
• Appealing to or using the intellect.
• Of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind.
• Appealing to or requiring use of the intellect.

Synonyms of "Intellectual" as an adjective (24 Words)

academic	Marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects. Academic achievement.
bookish	(of a person or way of life) devoted to reading and studying. The war proved the deepest trauma of a largely bookish life.
cerebral	Intellectual rather than emotional or physical. A cerebral haemorrhage.
civilized	Having a high state of culture and development both social and technological. Terrorist acts that shocked the civilized world.
clever	Mentally quick and resourceful. He taught the dog to perform some very clever tricks.
cognitive	Relating to cognition. The cognitive processes involved in reading.
cultivated	Marked by refinement in taste and manners. Cultivated speech.
cultured	Marked by refinement in taste and manners. Cultured tastes.
donnish	Resembling a college don, particularly because of having a pedantic, scholarly manner.
enlightened	Having or showing a rational, modern, and well-informed outlook. An enlightened electorate.
erudite	Having or showing great knowledge or learning. She was very erudite.
highbrow	Intellectual or rarefied in taste. A highbrowed literary critic.
intelligent	Possessing sound knowledge. An intelligent solution.
knowledgeable	Alert and fully informed. She is very knowledgeable about livestock and pedigrees.
learned	Highly educated; having extensive information or understanding. An article in a learned journal.
literary	Of language associated with literary works or other formal writing having a marked style intended to create a particular emotional effect. The great literary works of the nineteenth century.
mental	Of or relating to the mind. In a terrible mental state.
noetic	Relating to mental activity or the intellect. The noetic quality of a mystical experience refers to the sense of revelation.
rational	Of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind. The triumph of the rational over the animal side of man.
scholarly	Involving or relating to serious academic study. A scholarly treatise.
sophisticated	Appealing to or frequented by people who are sophisticated. A sophisticated drama.
studious	Showing great care or attention. His studious absence from public view.
well educated	Resulting favorably.
well read	In good health especially after having suffered illness or injury.

Usage Examples of "Intellectual" as an adjective

• You are an intellectual girl, like your mother.
• Children need intellectual stimulation.
• Intellectual problems.
• Intellectual literature.
• Coldly intellectual.
• Intellectual workers engaged in creative literary or artistic or scientific labor.
• Has tremendous intellectual sympathy for oppressed people.
• The film wasn't very intellectual, but it caught the mood of the times.
• Satire is an intellectual weapon.
• Sort of the intellectual type.

Associations of "Intellectual" (30 Words)

academic	Marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects. Ben is not an academic child but he tries hard.
aristocracy	A state in which governing power is held by the nobility. Britain s pop aristocracy.
aristocratic	Of, belonging to, or typical of the aristocracy. A stately aristocratic manner.
arrogant	Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. An arrogant official.
cadre	A member of an activist group. He was an activist in the cadre.
cerebral	Involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct. A cerebral approach to the problem.
condescending	Having or showing an attitude of patronizing superiority. She thought the teachers were arrogant and condescending.
cultivated	No longer in the natural state; developed by human care and for human use. He was a remarkably cultivated and educated man.
elite	A size of letter in typewriting, with 12 characters to the inch (about 4.7 to the centimetre). Elite colleges.
elitism	The belief that a society or system should be led by an elite. I ve been accused of elitism and snobbery because of my views on grammar and spelling.
elitist	Demonstrating a superior attitude or behaviour associated with an elite. Older men with an elitist attitude about music.
erudite	Having or showing profound knowledge. She was very erudite.
genteel	Marked by refinement in taste and manners. Her genteel upbringing.
gentry	People of good social position, specifically the class of people next below the nobility in position and birth. A member of the landed gentry.
highbrow	A highbrow person. She considered all those without television as highbrows intellectual snobs or paupers.
intelligentsia	Intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence. A distrust of the intelligentsia and of theoretical learning.
knowledge	Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation. Her considerable knowledge of antiques.
learned	(of a person) having acquired much knowledge through study. A learned jurist.
literati	Well-educated people who are interested in literature.
noble	Especially in former times a person of noble rank or birth. The medieval palace was once owned by a noble Florentine family.
patrician	A member of the aristocracy. Patrician landholders of the American South.
royal	Established or chartered or authorized by royalty. Of royal ancestry.
scholarly	Characteristic of scholars or scholarship. Scholarly journals.
select	Pick out select or choose from a number of alternatives. Children must select their GCSE subjects.
selected	Chosen in preference to another.
smart	(of a person) clean, tidy, and well dressed. I gave him a smart salute.
snob	A person with an exaggerated respect for high social position or wealth who seeks to associate with social superiors and looks down on those regarded as socially inferior. A musical snob.
superiority	The quality of being at a competitive advantage. An attempt to establish superiority over others.
trained	Shaped or conditioned or disciplined by training; often used as a combining form. The riding school was founded in the 16th century to provide trained horses for the Imperial Army.
vacuity	Lack of thought or intelligence; empty-headedness. He denounced what he considered the frivolity or vacuity of much contemporary painting.