Intelligent Definition & Meaning

American

British

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms intelligent American [in-tel-i-juhnt] / ɪnˈtɛl ɪ dʒənt /

adjective

1. having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend, as persons or animals.

   an intelligent student.

   Synonyms: bright Antonyms: stupid

2. displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment.

   an intelligent reply.

   Synonyms: smart, shrewd, discerning, apt, bright, alert, clever, astute Antonyms: stupid

3. having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence.

   intelligent beings in outer space.

4. Computers. pertaining to the ability to do data processing locally; smart.

   An intelligent terminal can edit input before transmission to a host computer.

5. Archaic. having understanding or knowledge (usually followed byof ).

intelligent British / ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒənt /

adjective

1. having or indicating intelligence

2. having high intelligence; clever

3. indicating high intelligence; perceptive

   an intelligent guess

4. guided by reason; rational

5. (of computerized functions) able to modify action in the light of ongoing events

6. archaic having knowledge or information

   they were intelligent of his whereabouts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

Intelligent, intellectual describe distinctive mental capacity. Intelligent often suggests a natural quickness of understanding: an intelligent reader. Intellectual implies not only having a high degree of understanding, but also a capacity and taste for the higher forms of knowledge: intellectual interests. See sharp.

Other Word Forms

• hyperintelligent adjective
• hyperintelligently adverb
• intelligently adverb
• nonintelligent adjective
• nonintelligently adverb
• preintelligent adjective
• preintelligently adverb
• quasi-intelligent adjective
• quasi-intelligently adverb
• semi-intelligent adjective
• semi-intelligently adverb
• superintelligent adjective

Etymology

Origin of intelligent

First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin intelligent- (stem of intelligēns, present participle of intelligere, variant of intellegere “to understand,” literally, “choose between),” equivalent to intel- (variant of inter- inter- ) + -lig- (combining form of leg-, stem of legere “to pick up, choose”; lection ) + -ent- -ent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For an intelligent man, it was a howlingly brainless offence.

From BBC

I had always thought of birds as not terribly intelligent—although Hawk did much to change my mind.

From Literature

Nick Hornby, chair of the judges, said the book was "both readable and intelligent" and "will be read and thought about for years to come".

From BBC

“You get these two incredibly intelligent misfits who are out of joint with the social world that they’re in,” Fiennes says.

From Los Angeles Times

I absolutely believe in what I would call intelligent failure.

From BBC

Related Words

• astute
• brainy
• bright
• brilliant
• creative
• imaginative
• inventive
• knowledgeable
• original
• perceptive
• rational
• resourceful
• smart
• well-informed
• wise

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.