INTELLECTUALS Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

intellectuals

noun

plural of intellectual

as in nerds

a person with strong intellectual interests discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of intellectuals Yet other scholars, activists and intellectuals have their takes, too, on the Harlem Renaissance’s many political movements and bids for Black self-determination. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 These new lines of thought, which have gained prominence among influential defense intellectuals and policy experts close to the Kremlin over the past year do not need to be endorsed in formal security doctrine to matter. — Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2026 In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves gathered artists and intellectuals associated with the Harlem Renaissance for an intimate dinner party at Duke Ellington’s home, capturing their conversations on 16mm. — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 The initial wave of departures was made up of African American intellectuals, church leaders and merchants. — Karen Masterson, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026 For the artists and intellectuals who lived there across two decades of pioneering residency programs, Georgia’s Ossabaw Island was a potent source of inspiration. — The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026 Latin became the language of administration in the western half of the empire—the language used by politicians, soldiers, and intellectuals. — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2026 These brilliant intellectuals apparently have nothing to do except make the Republican Party look better, stronger, smarter, more powerful and more mature than their beloved Democratic Party. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026 Capp’s flagship class on the Vietnam War’s impact on American religion and culture became a national sensation, drawing praise from members of Congress, television news anchors, and public intellectuals. — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectuals

Noun

Harbach is a gifted observer of undergraduates, their pathos and their comedy, but his Westish is a gentle and perhaps too-good-natured institution, where even the jocks are nerds.

— B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Some Latinas are nerds, and some Latinas are quirky, and some of them are goofy and some of them are clumsy.

— Johanna Ferreira, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026