intellectual JUST WRITTEN FOR YOU
/ˌɪntəˈlɛk(t)ʃʊəl/ · in·tel·lec·tual
noun
- An intelligent, learned person, especially one who discourses about learned matters. The symposium attracted numerous intellectuals who debated the ethics of artificial intelligence.
- The intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties. His intellectual was evident in the careful analysis he gave to the data.
adjective
- Belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental or cognitive. The course offers intellectual challenges that stimulate critical thinking.
- Endowed with intellect; having the power of understanding; having capacity for the higher forms of knowledge or thought; characterized by intelligence or mental capacity. She is an intellectual scholar who enjoys dissecting complex philosophical arguments.
- Suitable for exercising the intellect; formed by, and existing for, the intellect alone; perceived by the intellect. He pursued an intellectual hobby, such as chess, to keep his mind sharp.
Did you know? The plural 'intellectuals' was popularized in the early 20th century by French philosopher Jean‑Paul Sartre to describe a distinct social class of thinkers.