Definition Definition

intellectual - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'intellectual' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Intellectual [ a.]
- Belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental; as, intellectual powers, activities, etc.
- 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.
- Suitable for exercising the intellect; formed by, and existing for, the intellect alone; perceived by the intellect; as, intellectual employments.
- Relating to the understanding; treating of the mind; as, intellectual philosophy, sometimes called "mental" philosophy.
2 . Intellectual [ n.]
- The intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties.

Meaning of 'intellectual' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . intellectual [ a]
Meaning (1):
- involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct
Example in sentence:
  • a cerebral approach to the problem;
  • cerebral drama
Meaning (2):
- appealing to or using the intellect
Example in sentence:
  • coldly intellectual;
  • has tremendous intellectual sympathy for oppressed people;
  • intellectual literature;
  • intellectual workers engaged in creative literary or artistic or scientific labor;
  • satire is an intellectual weapon;
  • sort of the intellectual type
3 . intellectual [ s]
Meaning (3):
- of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind
Example in sentence:
  • intellectual problems;
  • the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man