scholarly

adjective

schol·​ar·​ly ˈskä-lər-lē How to pronounce scholarly (audio)
Synonyms of scholarlynext
: of, characteristic of, or suitable to a scholar : learned, academic

Synonyms of scholarly

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of scholarly in a Sentence

His writings have been recently given scholarly attention. She has a scholarly interest in music. a scholarly study of words and their origins
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The sessions aim to pair scholarly depth with a casual, social atmosphere. — Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 24 June 2026 Williams was never absent from that history except by the convenience of certain scholarly habits. — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026 Despite his academic credentials, Karp, then in his mid-30s, had no interest in either a legal career or a scholarly one. — Imani Sumbi, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 June 2026 He was honored as a Distinguished Fellow by the same organization for his scholarly contributions to the field of regional science, according to his obituary. — Chase Jordan july 1, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for scholarly

Word History

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scholarly was in 1583

Browse Nearby Words

scholarliness
scholarly
scholarship
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scholarly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scholarly. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on scholarly

Nglish: Translation of scholarly for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All