intellection

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˌɪntəˈlɛkʃən/ UK /ˌɪntɪˈlɛkʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the action or process of understanding by the intellect; reasoning

Mystics distrust pure intellection as a path to the divine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the action or process of... cognition reasoning understanding ratiocination thought cogitation

Opposites

intuition instinct

Word family

Related forms intellect intellectual intelligence

Etymology

From Medieval Latin intellectio, from Latin intellectus ('understanding'), from intellegere ('to perceive, understand'), from inter- ('between') + legere ('to choose, read').

intellectio Latin intellegere Latin legere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# intellection

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌɪntəˈlɛkʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌɪntɪˈlɛkʃən

## Meanings
1. the action or process of understanding by the intellect; reasoning

## Examples
- Mystics distrust pure intellection as a path to the divine.

## Synonyms
- cognition
- reasoning
- understanding
- ratiocination
- thought
- cogitation

## Antonyms
- intuition
- instinct

## Related Forms
- intellect
- intellectual
- intelligence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: intellectio
- Root: intellegere
- Root: legere

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin intellectio, from Latin intellectus ('understanding'), from intellegere ('to perceive, understand'), from inter- ('between') + legere ('to choose, read').

## AI Etymology
intellection comes from Medieval Latin intellectio, from Latin intellectus ('understanding'), from intellegere ('to perceive, understand'), from inter- ('between') + legere ('to choose, read'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "the action or process of understanding by the intellect; reasoning", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as intellect, intellectual, and intelligence. Its semantic neighborhood includes cognition, reasoning, understanding, and ratiocination, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin intellectio, Latin intellegere, and Latin legere.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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