I. |akə|demik, -ēk adjective
also ac·a·dem·i·cal -ə̇kəl
Etymology: Middle French & Latin; Middle French académique (influenced in meaning by académie ), from Latin academicus of the school of Plato, from Greek akadēmeikos, from Akadēmeia, a place where Plato taught + -ikos -ic, -ical — more at academy
1. usually capitalized : belonging or relating to the philosophy of Plato
2.
a. : of, belonging to, or associated with an academy or school especially of higher learning
the academic curriculum
academic interests
b. : formed by school training or associations : scholarly
an academic mind
c. : very learned but inexperienced in or unable to cope with the world of practical reality : visionary
academic thinkers and schoolmen, men whom the free spaces of thought frightened and who felt safe only behind secure fences — V.L.Parrington
d. : based on formal study at an institution of learning, especially of higher learning
though I have no academic qualifications, I am in fact much more highly educated than most university scholars — G.B.Shaw
3. : of or belonging to literary or art studies
the state might free the academic high schools of those who do not belong there, either through an expanded apprentice training program or through vocational guidance — American Child
4.
a. : conforming usually overrigidly to the traditions or rules of a school especially of literature or art : conventional , formalistic
I call them academic because I think the composer's interest in the musical devices he was employing was greater than his effort toward a direct … expression of anything in particular — Virgil Thomson
b. : meeting the standards or deriving from the teachings of an official academy
c. : of a conservative nature : realistic , representational — compare abstract , modern
5.
a. : theoretical and not expected to produce an immediate or practical act or result : speculative , abstract
the problem of truth is more than an academic problem of rational, objective, neutral knowledge — J.L.Hromándka
b. : of no practical or useful significance
6. : conforming to the architectural theories of Vitruvius (1st century B.C.) and later classical theorists as embodied in the doctrines of the Italian and French academies : marked by conventional use of the classical orders
• ac·a·dem·i·cal·ly -mə̇k(ə)lē, -ēk-, -li adverb
II. noun
( -s )
1. usually capitalized
a. : a philosopher of the Academy
b. : one adhering to the philosophy of Plato
2.
a. : one (as a professor or student) that is associated with or a member of an institution of learning (as a university)
b. : one that is academic in background, outlook, actions, or procedure
III. noun
academics plural : academic subjects