I. in ‧ tel ‧ lec ‧ tu·al 1 W3 /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl◂, ˌɪntɪˈlektʃuəl◂/ BrE AmE adjective
1 . relating to the ability to understand things and think intelligently ⇨ mental
intellectual development/ability/activity etc
a job that requires considerable intellectual effort
2 . an intellectual person is well-educated and interested in serious ideas and subjects such as science, literature etc ⇨ academic :
Mark’s very intellectual.
3 . needing serious thought in order to be understood:
an intellectual film
—intellectually adverb :
intellectually stimulating
⇨ ↑ intelligent
II. intellectual 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
an intelligent well-educated person who spends time thinking about complicated ideas and discussing them ⇨ academic :
a leading British intellectual
—intellectualism noun [uncountable]