intellect

/ˌɪntlˈɛkt/

/ˈɪntəlɛkt/

Other forms: intellects

Intellect is how much intelligence you have. Einstein was known for having a great intellect. Mickey Mouse's friend Goofy has almost no intellect to speak of.

Intellect is the mental equivalent of athletic ability or fashion sense, so someone is an intellect if they have great intellectual ability just as an athlete is someone who has great athletic ability. Intellect is something everyone has in some degree. If someone talks down to you, it's an insult to your intellect. Your teacher might say you have a sharp intellect if you have the intellect to figure out difficult problems. An intellectual is a person who has a lot of knowledge and prefers to think about things on an abstract or theoretical level rather than a practical one.

Definitions of intellect

1. noun

   knowledge and intellectual ability
   “he has a keen intellect”

   synonyms: mind

   type of:

   intelligence

   the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
2. noun

   the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
   synonyms: reason, understanding

   type of:

   faculty, mental faculty, module

   one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
3. noun

   a person who uses the mind creatively
   synonyms: intellectual

   types:

   anomalist

   someone who has a special interest in exceptional cases

   exponent

   someone who expounds and interprets or explains

   alchemist

   one who was versed in the practice of alchemy and who sought an elixir of life and a panacea and an alkahest and the philosopher's stone

   aphorist

   someone who formulates aphorisms or who repeats aphorisms

   bel esprit

   a witty or clever person with a fine mind

   clever Dick, clever clogs

   an intellectual who is ostentatiously and irritatingly knowledgeable

   decipherer, decoder

   the kind of intellectual who converts messages from a code to plain text

   egghead

   an intellectual; a very studious and academic person

   expositor, expounder

   a person who explains

   Einstein, brain, brainiac, genius, mastermind

   someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality

   highbrow

   a person of intellectual or erudite tastes

   mentor, wise man

   a wise and trusted guide and advisor

   bookman, scholar, scholarly person, student

   a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines

   doubter, sceptic, skeptic

   someone who habitually doubts accepted beliefs

   specifier

   someone who draws up specifications giving details (as for obtaining a patent)

   subjectivist

   a person who subscribes to subjectivism

   synthesiser, synthesist, synthesizer

   an intellectual who synthesizes or uses synthetic methods

   idealogue, theoretician, theoriser, theorist, theorizer

   someone who theorizes (especially in science or art)

   creative thinker, mind, thinker

   an important intellectual

   thinker

   someone who exercises the mind (usually in an effort to reach a decision)

   illusionist, seer, visionary

   a person with unusual powers of foresight

   wonderer

   someone who is curious about something

   academician, schoolman

   a scholar who is skilled in academic disputation

   alum, alumna, alumnus, grad, graduate

   a person who has received a degree from a school (high school or college or university)

   anticipant, anticipator

   one who anticipates

   Arabist

   a scholar who specializes in Arab languages and culture

   bibliographer

   someone trained to prepare a list of writings showing when and where they were published (such as the writings of a single author or the works referred to in preparing a document)

   bibliophile, book lover, booklover

   someone who loves (and usually collects) books

   brain-worker, brainworker

   someone whose profession involves using his head to solve problems

   Cabalist, Kabbalist

   a student of the Jewish Kabbalah

   classifier

   a person who creates classifications

   cryptanalyst, cryptographer, cryptologist

   decoder skilled in the analysis of codes and cryptograms

   divergent thinker

   a thinker who moves away from the problem as stated and often has novel ideas and solutions

   diviner

   someone who claims to discover hidden knowledge with the aid of supernatural powers

   Dr., doctor

   a person who holds Ph.D. degree (or the equivalent) from an academic institution

   doubting Thomas

   someone who demands physical evidence in order to be convinced (especially when this demand is out of place)

   excogitator

   a thinker who considers carefully and thoroughly

   fantast, futurist

   someone who predicts the future

   forecaster, predictor, prognosticator, soothsayer

   someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge)

   goliard

   a wandering scholar in medieval Europe; famed for intemperance and riotous behavior and the composition of satirical and ribald Latin songs

   historian, historiographer

   a person who is an authority on history and who studies it and writes about it

   humanist

   a classical scholar or student of the liberal arts

   initiate, learned person, pundit, savant

   someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

   Islamist

   a scholar who knowledgeable in Islamic studies

   licentiate

   holds a license (degree) from a (European) university

   Masorete, Masorite, Massorete

   a scholar who is expert on the Masorah (especially one of the Jewish scribes who contributed to the Masorah)

   master

   someone who holds a master's degree from academic institution

   mujtihad

   an Islamic scholar who engages in ijtihad, the effort to derive rules of divine law from Muslim sacred texts

   muller, muser, ponderer, ruminator

   a reflective thinker characterized by quiet contemplation

   musicologist

   a student of musicology

   arranger, organiser, organizer

   a person who brings order and organization to an enterprise

   bookworm, pedant, scholastic

   a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit

   pessimist

   a person who expects the worst

   philomath

   a lover of learning

   philosopher

   a specialist in philosophy

   philosophiser, philosophizer

   someone who considers situations from a philosophical point of view

   post doc, postdoc

   a scholar or researcher who is involved in academic study beyond the level of a doctoral degree

   convergent thinker, problem solver, solver

   a thinker who focuses on the problem as stated and tries to synthesize information and knowledge to achieve a solution

   prodigy

   an unusually gifted or intelligent (young) person; someone whose talents excite wonder and admiration

   reader

   a person who enjoys reading

   ratiocinator, reasoner

   someone who reasons logically

   Renaissance man

   a scholar during the Renaissance who (because knowledge was limited) could know almost everything about many topics

   Renaissance man, generalist

   a modern scholar who is in a position to acquire more than superficial knowledge about many different interests

   rocket scientist

   a clever thinker

   sage

   a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom

   salutatorian, salutatory speaker

   a graduating student with the second highest academic rank; may deliver the opening address at graduation exercises

   scholiast

   a scholar who writes explanatory notes on an author (especially an ancient commentator on a classical author)

   Schoolman, medieval Schoolman

   a scholar in one of the universities of the Middle Ages; versed in scholasticism

   Shakespearean, Shakespearian

   a Shakespearean scholar

   Sinologist

   a student of Chinese history and language and culture

   speculator

   someone who makes conjectures without knowing the facts

   theologian, theologiser, theologist, theologizer

   someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology

   valedictorian, valedictory speaker

   the student with the best grades who usually delivers the valedictory address at commencement

   Vedist

   a scholar of or an authority on the Vedas

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being