Intellectualism

noun

noun ·7 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The use or development of the intellect. countable, uncountable

    "I don't think much of you yet — I wish I could — though you do go talking and lecturing up and down the country to crowded audiences, and are busy with all sorts of philanthropic intellectualism, and circulating libraries and museums, and Heaven only knows what besides, and try to make us think, through newspaper reports, that you are, even as we, of the working classes."

  2. 2
    The doctrine that knowledge is derived from pure reason. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    The use of mental attributes as a criterion or value. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
apprehensionbibliolatrycalibercalibratecapacitycomprehension

Example

More examples

"Criticism of "elitism" is often a veiled attack on intellectualism."

Etymology

From intellectual + -ism.

Related phrases

anti-intellectualism

More for "intellectualism"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.