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Definition of intellectual adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

intellectual

adjective
 
/ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/
 
/ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/
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  1. [usually before noun] connected with or using a person’s ability to think in a logical way and understand things synonym mental
    • Gifted children typically show great intellectual curiosity and a wide range of interests.
    • an intellectual novel
    Extra Examples
    • I don't think he has the intellectual skills necessary to study at this level.
    • It can be very difficult to measure intellectual ability.
    • She has a rigorously intellectual approach to the topic.
    • Students should be able to develop both their creative and intellectual powers.
    • Their political position is hard to justify in intellectual terms.
    • There wasn't much opportunity for intellectual discussion.
    • You can't really appreciate art from a purely intellectual standpoint.
    Topics Working lifeb2
  2. (of a person) well educated and enjoying activities in which you have to think seriously about things
    • She's very intellectual.
    Extra Examples
    • He's extremely bright, but not really intellectual.
    • The play was obviously written for an intellectual audience.
    • Her works were popular among the intellectual elite of the time.
  3. Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin intellectualis, from intellectus ‘understanding’, from intellegere ‘understand’, from inter ‘between’ + legere ‘choose’.
See intellectual in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee intellectual in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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