as in nerds
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Recent Examples of intellectuals
During the 1920s, Nardal joined a wave of Black intellectuals who relocated to Paris to pursue educational opportunities.
—
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
And this was disliked by intellectuals.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
Think of it as a sleek and uncomfortable time capsule of the past half decade of #MeToo discourse, or as a character study of flawed intellectuals desperately attempting to perform their values while clinging to the facade of their respective identities.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 10 Oct. 2025
Some earlier African intellectuals looked at Black America with pity, even disdain.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Both existentialism and absurdism have their appeal and are represented by very cool intellectuals.
—Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
But there was a period during China's reform era that some pro-reform intellectuals admired the fact that America's ruling class was proficient in procedures.
—Vincent Ni, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The first National Conservatism conferences drew students and intellectuals who felt marginalized by the Republican Party and dreamed about taking power.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noah Baumbach’s painfully incisive portrait of a family divorce among a remarkably prickly family of Brooklyn intellectuals finds so many ways to showcase its characters’ most brittle sides.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
And this was disliked by intellectuals.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
Think of it as a sleek and uncomfortable time capsule of the past half decade of #MeToo discourse, or as a character study of flawed intellectuals desperately attempting to perform their values while clinging to the facade of their respective identities.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 10 Oct. 2025
Some earlier African intellectuals looked at Black America with pity, even disdain.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Both existentialism and absurdism have their appeal and are represented by very cool intellectuals.
—Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
But there was a period during China's reform era that some pro-reform intellectuals admired the fact that America's ruling class was proficient in procedures.
—Vincent Ni, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The first National Conservatism conferences drew students and intellectuals who felt marginalized by the Republican Party and dreamed about taking power.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noah Baumbach’s painfully incisive portrait of a family divorce among a remarkably prickly family of Brooklyn intellectuals finds so many ways to showcase its characters’ most brittle sides.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectuals
Noun
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Tape nerds will note that Dončić also made six 2s from the left side of the free-throw area.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Once the territory of grandfathers and sitcom nerds, sweater vests have had a resurgence over the last decade.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In the 1990s, the internet boom created overnight fortunes along with unforeseen challenges for some tech geeks and impresarios who founded wildly successful dot-coms.—
Christina Binkley,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2025
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If Substack creators can make a living on affiliate links, why not music geeks?—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectuals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectuals. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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