intelligentsia

noun

in-ˌte-lə-ˈjen(t)-sē-ə How to pronounce intelligentsia (audio)
Definition of intelligentsianext
as in literati
intellectuals considered as a social class a presidential candidate who was the darling of the intelligentsia—and very few others

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of intelligentsia With his mother working as a senior official on the Supreme Court and his father as a lawyer, Magyar grew up in the heart of Hungary’s political establishment and intelligentsia. — Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026 Written as a response to the utopian fiction that consumed Russia’s intelligentsia at the time, Notes from Underground is a mirror that reflects the ugliest, most pitiful aspects of humanity back at us. — Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026 Popular opinion was also shaped by an overwhelmingly left-leaning intelligentsia created and shaped by the long national struggle against European imperialism. — Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025 Like most of the foreign intelligentsia, such as Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, and the New York Times correspondent Herbert Matthews, all of whom had come to Madrid to cover the war, Martha arrived in Spain a passionate partisan. — Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intelligentsia
  1. elite
  2. clerisy
  3. elect
Noun
  • That initial ruling also triggered a furious response from her nationalist allies at home and abroad, feeding an anti-establishment narrative of an elite conspiring to shut them out.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • While the elite pick up their paddles after a vampiric rest in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, 87% of Americans (out of 5,000 surveyed in December 2025) believe the country is in a crisis because of its unaffordability.
    — Hunter Lacey, Allure, 7 July 2026
Definition of elite
Noun
  • They are ruled by a grizzled and sclerotic clerisy that funnels resources to its private army, the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
    — Matthew Continetti, National Review, 24 Sep. 2022
  • All will be forgiven and forgotten by the clerisy of the moment.
    — Barton Swaim, WSJ, 18 July 2021
Definition of clerisy
Noun
  • But his situation is actually fairly complicated, in part because of how the Hall of Fame elects candidates.
    — James Mirtle, New York Times, 17 June 2026
  • Lyons had joined Fiserv that January as president and CEO-elect.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 15 June 2026
Definition of elect

Browse Nearby Words

intelligent
intelligentsia
intelligibility
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Cite this Entry

“Intelligentsia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intelligentsia. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on intelligentsia

Nglish: Translation of intelligentsia for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about intelligentsia

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