intellectualadjective
uk/ˌɪn.təlˈek.tʃu.əl/us/ˌɪn.t̬əlˈek.tʃu.əl/B2 relating to your ability to think and understand things, especially complicated ideas:
Looking after a baby at home all day is nice but it doesn't provide much intellectual stimulation.
I like detective stories and romances - nothing too intellectual.
More examples
- His approach to acting is visceral rather than intellectual.
- While she was at home looking after her children, she felt deprived of intellectual stimulation.
- Her arguments lacked intellectual rigour.
- His writing has been dismissed as mere intellectual posturing.
- Throughout her marriage she never considered her husband as her intellectual equal.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Logic and reason
- a priori
- cerebral
- clear head
- clearly
- coherent
- conceptual
- inductive
- intellectualize
- lateral thinking
- logic
- logical
- positivism
- positivist
- premise
- QED
- rational
- reasoning
- solipsism
- sophism
- sophistry
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Intelligence
intellectually
adverb uk/ˌɪn.təlˈek.tʃu.ə.li/us/ˌɪn.t̬əlˈek.tʃu.ə.li/
C2
She's hoping to find a job which is more demanding intellectually.
intellectualnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌɪn.təlˈek.tʃu.əl/us/ˌɪn.t̬əlˈek.tʃu.əl/C2 a very educated person whose interests are studying and other activities that involve careful thinking and mental effort:
She was too much of an intellectual to find popular movies interesting.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Intelligent people
- academic
- bluestocking
- bookish
- bookworm
- brain
- bright spark
- clever
- gnome
- intellect
- laureate
- mage
- not be just a pretty face idiom
- pandit
- sage
- scholar
- smart cookie
- smart-arse
- swot
- wit
- wonk
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