intelligent
adjective
in·tel·li·gent in-ˈte-lə-jənt 
1
a
: having or indicating a high or satisfactory degree of intelligence and mental capacity
b
: revealing or reflecting good judgment or sound thought : skillful
2
a
: possessing intelligence
b
: guided or directed by intellect : rational
3
a
: guided or controlled by a computer
especially : smart sense 7c compare dumb sense 7
b
: able to produce printed material from digital signals
an intelligent copier
intelligential
in-ˌte-lə-ˈjen(t)-shəl
adjective intelligently
in-ˈte-lə-jənt-lē
adverb 
Synonyms
- alert
- brainy
- bright
- brilliant
- clever
- exceptional
- fast
- hyperintelligent
- keen
- nimble
- quick
- quick-witted
- sharp
- sharp-witted
- smart
- supersmart
- ultrasmart
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She asked some intelligent questions. He's a hard worker but he's not very intelligent.
Recent Examples on the Web While intelligent minds can differ, this is just one of several points where Stone’s rhetorical punchiness is more a distraction than a point of illumination. 
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022 Trae Patton/NBC 14 of 15 Laura Linney in Christian Siriano Similarly to Issa Rae’s gown, Laura Linney’s Christian Siriano dress made intelligent use of white and black. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 13 Sep. 2022 The other, sensitive and intelligent, settled in Paris as a young man and devoted himself to one artistic pursuit after another. Robert D. Mcfadden, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Sep. 2022 The queen helped the many British prime ministers who served in her lifetime by listening to them and asking intelligent questions in her traditional weekly audience with them, former Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday. Jean-nicholas Fievet, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2022 Because Preston’s logic elements are made of fabric, the intelligent jacket feels more like a regular one than a coat filled with electronics or other hard components. Sophia Chen, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2022 Look closely whenever cinematographer Ludovica Isidori moves her active, intelligent camera. Amy Nicholson, Variety, 11 Sep. 2022 The Rothschild family is one of the world's great dynasties—but never before have the lives of the family's women been explored in such intelligent, entertaining detail as in Natalie Livingstone's new must read. The Editors, Town & Country, 9 Sep. 2022 Grace, the widow of a Naval officer who lives comfortably in Brooklyn with her intelligent daughter, Veronica Grace, who just graduated from college and is about to start her journalism career. Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2022 See More
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022 Trae Patton/NBC 14 of 15 Laura Linney in Christian Siriano Similarly to Issa Rae’s gown, Laura Linney’s Christian Siriano dress made intelligent use of white and black. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 13 Sep. 2022 The other, sensitive and intelligent, settled in Paris as a young man and devoted himself to one artistic pursuit after another. Robert D. Mcfadden, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Sep. 2022 The queen helped the many British prime ministers who served in her lifetime by listening to them and asking intelligent questions in her traditional weekly audience with them, former Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday. Jean-nicholas Fievet, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2022 Because Preston’s logic elements are made of fabric, the intelligent jacket feels more like a regular one than a coat filled with electronics or other hard components. Sophia Chen, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2022 Look closely whenever cinematographer Ludovica Isidori moves her active, intelligent camera. Amy Nicholson, Variety, 11 Sep. 2022 The Rothschild family is one of the world's great dynasties—but never before have the lives of the family's women been explored in such intelligent, entertaining detail as in Natalie Livingstone's new must read. The Editors, Town & Country, 9 Sep. 2022 Grace, the widow of a Naval officer who lives comfortably in Brooklyn with her intelligent daughter, Veronica Grace, who just graduated from college and is about to start her journalism career. Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin intelligent-, intelligens, present participle of intelligere, intellegere to understand, from inter- + legere to gather, select — more at legend
First Known Use
circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing intelligent
Kids Definition
intelligent
adjective
in·tel·li·gent in-ˈte-lə-jənt
1
: having or showing serious thought and good judgment
an intelligent student
an intelligent decision
2
: able to learn and understand
Is there intelligent life on other planets?
Legal Definition
intelligent
adjective
in·tel·li·gent
: having or indicating a high or satisfactory degree of intelligence and mental capacity
especially : having or indicating an understanding of the nature and consequences of an act or decision
a knowing and intelligent waiver of counsel
compare knowing Note: Under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), a waiver of rights must be knowing and intelligent.
intelligent
adjective
1
as in smart
having or showing quickness of mind proud parents typically insist that their child is intelligent way beyond his or her years his intelligent response to the emergency averted a disaster Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- smart
- clever
- brilliant
- fast
- quick
- exceptional
- educated
- bright
- sharp
- brainy
- skilled
- wise
- keen
- nimble
- quick-witted
- wise
- alert
- hyperintelligent
- supersmart
- cunning
- sharp-witted
- resourceful
- literate
- perceptive
- sensible
- insightful
- schooled
- astute
- ultrasmart
- creative
- savvy
- erudite
- knowledgeable
- perspicacious
- ingenious
- cerebral
- informed
- sagacious
- learned
- rational
- acute
- logical
- discerning
- judicious
- trained
- inventive
- scholarly
- prudent
- sane
- apt
- sound
- knowing
- sapient
- highbrow
- well-read
- shrewd
- genial
- reasonable
- percipient
- heady
- wily
- sage
- crafty
- sapient
- foxy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unintelligent
- dumb
- stupid
- dense
- simple
- brainless
- obtuse
- mindless
- slow
- dopey
- soft
- vacuous
- opaque
- doltish
- witless
- thick
- fatuous
- unsmart
- dull
- boneheaded
- dim
- thickheaded
- pinheaded
- dunderheaded
- dopy
- bubbleheaded
- softheaded
- knuckleheaded
- foolish
- dorky
- lamebrained
- lamebrain
- gormless
- idiotic
- simpleminded
- feebleminded
- chuckleheaded
- senseless
- silly
- airheaded
- unbrilliant
- ignorant
- imbecilic
- moronic
- dim-witted
- imbecile
- lunkheaded
- uneducated
- slow-witted
- birdbrained
- illiterate
- thick-witted
- half-witted
- uninformed
- brain-dead
- empty-headed
- weak-minded
- unintellectual
- unthinking
- idiotical
- unacademic
- nonintellectual
- untaught
- absurd
- lowbrow
- zany
- insane
- mad
- nutty
- crazy
- unwise
- preposterous
- kooky
- wacky
- fool
- nonsensical
- dippy
- loony
- lunatic
- whacky
- daffy
- cuckoo
- daft
- asinine
- harebrained
- boobish
- sappy
- screwball
- cockeyed
- half-baked
- crackpot
- looney
- dotty
- balmy
- kookie
- featherheaded
- half-baked
- tomfool
2
as in rational
having the ability to reason there is some debate over whether dolphins are intelligent animals Synonyms & Similar Words
- rational
- reasoning
- reasonable
- thinking
- logical
- brainy
- sensible
- intellectual
- analytic
- cerebral
- mental
- analytical
- practical
- cognitive
- sane
- highbrow
- levelheaded
- cognitional
- highbrowed
- sober
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unintelligent
- irrational
- unreasonable
- unthinking
- dumb
- stupid
- dense
- nonrational
- unreasoning
- slow
- brainless
- mindless
- obtuse
- dopey
- doltish
- dull
- fatuous
- nonthinking
- thickheaded
- dorky
- illogical
- senseless
- dopy
- nonsensical
- half-witted
- invalid
- fallacious
- groundless
3
as in discreet
having or showing good judgment and restraint especially in conduct or speech the only intelligent response to such a tasteless joke is to quickly change the subject Synonyms & Similar Words
- discreet
- judicious
- prudent
- cautious
- sensible
- circumspect
- wise
- astute
- sane
- judgmatical
- foresighted
- judgmatic
- perspicacious
- sapient
- discerning
- sagacious
- discriminating
- shrewd
- canny
- sage
- senseful
- foresightful
- chary
- cozy
- forehanded
- provident
- forethoughtful
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- careless
- imprudent
- injudicious
- indiscreet
- foolish
- rash
- heedless
- shortsighted
- incautious
- improvident
- unwise
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of intelligent are alert, clever, and quick-witted. While all these words mean "mentally keen or quick," intelligent stresses success in coping with new situations and solving problems.
an intelligent person could assemble it fast
While in some cases nearly identical to intelligent, alert stresses quickness in perceiving and understanding.
alert to new technology
Although the words clever and intelligent have much in common, clever implies native ability or aptness and sometimes suggests a lack of more substantial qualities.
clever with words
The words quick-witted and intelligent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quick-witted implies promptness in finding answers in debate or in devising expedients in moments of danger or challenge.
no match for his quick-witted opponent