noun
also in·tel·li·gen·tzia (ˌ)in.ˌteləˈjentsēə, ə̇n.ˌtel- also -ˈjench(ē)ə or -ˈgentsēə
( -s )
Etymology: Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intelligentia intelligence — more at intelligence
1.
a. : a class of well-educated articulate persons constituting a distinct, recognized, and self-conscious social stratum within a nation and claiming or assuming for itself the guiding role of an intellectual, social, or political vanguard
the basic function of the Encyclopedists and of all later intelligentsias … includes both the iconoclastic and the pedagogic, the destructive and the constructive element — Arthur Koestler
an inferior helot people without any national consciousness, without any intelligentsia — O.D.Tolischus
it has a restless, unstable, rebellious, and brilliant intelligentsia — R.H.Markham
b. : a class of persons devoted to matters of the mind and especially to the arts and letters : a class of persons given to study, reflection, and speculation especially concerning large, profound, or abstract issues
a café where the local intelligentsia gathered
a trifling comedy scorned by the intelligentsia
2. : a class of persons engaged in activity requiring preeminently the use of the intellect : a class of persons engaged in mental as distinguished from manual labor
best opinion in this country accords to professional men and women the status of intelligentsia — M.L.Cooke