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
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
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
His portrayal of a pompous, yapping intellectual who's rotten to the core rings uncomfortably true, as do the performances of Thatcher and East as their characters nonverbally communicate their discomfort to each other.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Soyinka, born on 13 July 1934 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, is a renowned playwright, poet, essayist and public intellectual.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
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Adjective
The petulant, back-stabby intrigue between various parties here sometimes makes the hero rather unsympathetic, with photogenic singer-actor Pena Hernandez’s puppyish turn not conveying a great deal of complexity, let alone artistic o intellectual potential.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
His portrayal of a pompous, yapping intellectual who's rotten to the core rings uncomfortably true, as do the performances of Thatcher and East as their characters nonverbally communicate their discomfort to each other.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
Guests in attendance for this lavish soirée include George’s fellow intellectuals, a large number of dapper hedonists, the handsome horndog Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) — whose wolf-whistle come-ons are neither fully rebuffed nor reciprocated by Hedda — and Thea (Imogen Poots, wasted).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Soyinka, born on 13 July 1934 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, is a renowned playwright, poet, essayist and public intellectual.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectual. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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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