in ‧ tel ‧ li ‧ gence S3 W3 AC /ɪnˈtelədʒ ə ns, ɪnˈtelɪdʒ ə ns/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ intelligence , ↑ intelligentsia , ↑ intelligibility ; adverb : ↑ intelligently , ↑ intelligibly ; adjective : ↑ intelligent ≠ UNINTELLIGENT , ↑ intelligible ≠ ↑ unintelligible ]
1 .
a) the ability to learn, understand, and think about things:
To be good at the game, you need a reasonable level of intelligence.
high/low intelligence
John showed high intelligence from an early age.
b) a high level of this ability:
a woman who had both beauty and intelligence
⇨ ↑ artificial intelligence
2 .
a) information about the secret activities of foreign governments, the military plans of an enemy etc:
According to our intelligence, further attacks were planned.
intelligence operations/sources/reports etc
Intelligence sources denied the reports.
b) a group of people or an organization that gathers this information for their government
intelligence agencies/services etc
In Britain there are three main intelligence organizations.
US Military Intelligence