What does intellectual mean?

Definitions for intellectual
ˌɪn tlˈɛk tʃu əlin·tel·lec·tu·al

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word intellectual.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. intellectual, intellectadjective

    a person who uses the mind creatively

  2. intellectual, rational, noeticadjective

    of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind

    "intellectual problems"; "the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man"

  3. intellectualadjective

    appealing to or using the intellect

    "satire is an intellectual weapon"; "intellectual workers engaged in creative literary or artistic or scientific labor"; "has tremendous intellectual sympathy for oppressed people"; "coldly intellectual"; "sort of the intellectual type"; "intellectual literature"

  4. cerebral, intellectualadjective

    involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct

    "a cerebral approach to the problem"; "cerebral drama"

GCIDE

  1. Intellectualnoun

    A learned person or one of high intelligence; especially, one who places greatest value on activities requiring exercise of the intelligence, such as study, complex forms of knowledge, literature and aesthetic matters, reflection and philosophical speculation; a member of the intelligentsia; as, intellectuals are often apalled at the inanities that pass for entertainment on television.

Wiktionary

  1. intellectualnoun

    An intelligent person, someone interested in intellectual matters.

  2. intellectualnoun

    The intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties.

  3. intellectualadjective

    Belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental; as, intellectual powers, activities, etc.

  4. intellectualadjective

    Endowed with intellect; having the power of understanding; having capacity for the higher forms of knowledge or thought; characterized by intelligence or mental capacity; as, an intellectual person.

  5. intellectualadjective

    Suitable for exercising the intellect; formed by, and existing for, the intellect alone; perceived by the intellect; as, intellectual employments.

  6. intellectualadjective

    Relating to the understanding; treating of the mind; as, intellectual philosophy, sometimes called "mental" philosophy.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Intellectualadjective

    Etymology: intellectuel, French; intellectualis, low Latin.

    Religion teaches us to present to God our bodies as well as our souls: if the body serves the soul in actions natural and civil, and intellectual, it must not be eased in the only offices of religion. Taylor.

    Logick is to teach us the right use of our reason, or intellectual powers. Isaac Watts.

    In a dark vision's intellectual scene,
    Beneath a bow'r for sorrow made,
    The melancholy Cowley lay. Abraham Cowley.

    A train of phantoms in wild order rose,
    And, join'd, this intellectual scene compose. Alexander Pope.

    Anaxagoras and Plato term the maker of the world an intellectual worker. Richard Hooker.

    Who would lose,
    Though full of pain, this intellectual being,
    Those thoughts that wander through eternity,
    To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost,
    In the wide womb of uncreated night,
    Devoid of sense and motion? John Milton, Parad. Lost.

  2. Intellectualnoun

    Intellect; understanding; mental powers or faculties. This is little in use.

    Her husband not nigh,
    Whose higher intellectual more I shun. John Milton.

    The fancies of most, like the index of a clock, are moved but by the inward springs of the corporeal machine; which, even on the most sublimed intellectual, is dangerously influential. Joseph Glanvill, Sceps.

    I have not consulted the repute of my intellectuals in bringing their weaknesses into such discerning presences. Joseph Glanvill.

Wikipedia

  1. Intellectual

    An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as a mediator, the intellectual participates in politics, either to defend a concrete proposition or to denounce an injustice, usually by either rejecting or producing or extending an ideology, and by defending a system of values.

ChatGPT

  1. intellectual

    An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and proposes solutions for the problems within society. These individuals typically have a high level of education or knowledge and use their reasoning and analytical abilities to understand complex ideas and subjects. This term can also refer to the cognitive ability or activities involving the intellect.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Intellectualadjective

    belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental; as, intellectual powers, activities, etc

  2. Intellectualadjective

    endowed with intellect; having the power of understanding; having capacity for the higher forms of knowledge or thought; characterized by intelligence or mental capacity; as, an intellectual person

  3. Intellectualadjective

    suitable for exercising the intellect; formed by, and existing for, the intellect alone; perceived by the intellect; as, intellectual employments

  4. Intellectualadjective

    relating to the understanding; treating of the mind; as, intellectual philosophy, sometimes called "mental" philosophy

  5. Intellectualnoun

    the intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties

  6. Etymology: [L. intellectualis: cf. F. intellectuel.]

Wikidata

  1. Intellectual

    An intellectual is a person who primarily uses intelligence in either a professional or an individual capacity. As a substantive or adjective, it refers to the work product of such persons, to the so-called "life of the mind" generally, or to an aspect of something where learning, erudition, and informed and critical thinking are the focus, as in "the intellectual level of the discourse on the matter was not high". The intellectual is a specific variety of the intelligent, which unlike the general property, is strictly associated with reason and thinking. Many everyday roles require the application of intelligence to skills that may have a psychomotor component, for example, in the fields of medicine, sport or the arts, but these do not necessarily involve the practitioner in the "world of ideas". The distinctive quality of the intellectual person is that the mental skills, which he or she demonstrates, are not simply intelligent, but even more, they focus on thinking about the abstract, philosophical and esoteric aspects of human inquiry and the value of their thinking. Traditionally, the scholarly and the intellectual classes were closely identified; however, while intellectuals need not necessarily be actively involved in scholarship, they often have an academic background and will typically have an association with a profession.

Editors Contribution

  1. intellectual

    A person who is smart and enjoys serious study and thought.

    That person is a real intellectual.


    Submitted by JP03 on February 5, 2015  


  2. intellectualadjective

    a person who uses the mind creatively

    intelectual

    Etymology: intelligent


    Submitted by undiphilekeith65 on November 13, 2022  


  3. intellectual

    To use the mind and intelligence to create.

    The computer programmers are intellectual human beings.


    Submitted by MaryC on April 3, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'intellectual' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3726

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'intellectual' in Nouns Frequency: #2738

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'intellectual' in Adjectives Frequency: #500

How to pronounce intellectual?

How to say intellectual in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of intellectual in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of intellectual in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of intellectual in a Sentence

  1. Harry Reid:

    The outline he just gave has nothing to do with intellectual credibility. The agreement that was finalized last week dealt with one subject and one subject only. Whether or not Iran should have a nuclear weapon and the answer was resoundingly no.

  2. Barack Obama:

    Look, first of all, the climate is changing. I don’t think the science is clear what percentage is man-made and what percentage is natural. It’s convoluted. And for the people to say the science is decided on, this is just really arrogant, to be honest with you, it's this intellectual arrogance that now you can’t even have a conversation about it. The climate is changing, and we need to adapt to that reality.

  3. Commerce Ministry:

    There have been recent media reports that the Government of India has privately assured that it will not issue any more compulsory licences. It is hereby clarified that such reports are factually incorrect, in this regard, it may be noted that India has a well-established TRIPS compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs (intellectual property rights). Under the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement Public Health, each member has the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licences are granted.

  4. Albert Einstein:

    My pacifism is an instinctive feeling, a feeling that possesses me because the murder of men is disgusting. My attitude is not derived from any intellectual theory but is based on my deepest antipathy to every kind of cruelty and hatred.

  5. Merrick Garland:

    The People's Republic of China is a serious threat to our intellectual property. They represent a serious threat with respect to espionage.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

intellectual#1#3740#10000

Translations for intellectual

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"intellectual." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/intellectual>.

Discuss these intellectual definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Zulkharnine Sultana
    Zulkharnine Sultana
    Intellectuals means who act possitive way not for self purpose.to whole and sole activities, negative environment to get positive results which can be benefited by all.
    LikeReply6 years ago

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