intellectual

in-tuh-LEK-choo-uhl/ˌɪntəˈlɛkt͡ʃʊəl/

7 meanings of intellectual

1
adjective
Having to do with thinking, learning, or using the mind.
Like exercise, but for your mind instead of your body.
Solving puzzles is good intellectual exercise for the brain.
He enjoys intellectual hobbies like reading and chess.
Similarmental, cerebral, cognitive, academic
Oppositeemotional, physical
Note
2
nouncountable
A smart, well-educated person who likes to think and talk about ideas.
Like someone who loves ideas the way an athlete loves sports.
Her grandfather was a true intellectual who read for hours each day.
The café was full of intellectuals arguing about politics.
Similarscholar, academic, highbrow
Oppositelowbrow, philistine
Note
3
adjective
Smart and quick to understand, and able to learn and think well.
Like a brain that soaks up new ideas as fast as a sponge soaks up water.
She was a remarkably intellectual child who learned to read very early.
A highly intellectual mind can grasp difficult ideas quickly.
Similarintelligent, cerebral, scholarly, learned, erudite
Oppositeunintelligent, lowbrow, ignorant
4
adjective
Made to make you think, or understood by thinking rather than by sight or touch.
Like a puzzle that gives your brain something to work on.
The museum offers intellectual activities for curious visitors.
Philosophy deals with intellectual ideas that cannot be touched or seen.
Similarmental, cerebral
Oppositesensory, physical
5
adjective
Having to do with the mind and how people understand things.
Like a map showing how the mind works.
Her essay explored the intellectual side of human nature.
Old textbooks once mapped the intellectual powers of the brain.
Similarmental, cognitive
Note

Less common meanings

6
nounarchaic
The power of the mind to think and understand.
Note
7
adjectivearchaic
Having to do with the spirit or soul rather than the body.
Like a light that shines inside the soul, not from the sun.
The poet praised an intellectual light that fills the waking soul.
He longed for intellectual joys beyond the reach of the body.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Old French intellectuel, from Latin intellectualis.