intelligent

A2 Topic:Describing People

US /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #3428

Meanings

1

adj
able to learn, understand, and think clearly; clever.

She is an intelligent student who learns new ideas very quickly.
2

adj
showing careful thought; well considered.

The engineer made an intelligent proposal for the new car design.
3

adj
of a machine or device: able to sense its surroundings and react automatically.

The car has an intelligent system that warns you about nearby objects.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · able to learn, understand,... reasoning thinking

More astute brainy bright brilliant clever educated genius gifted ingenious intellectual keen knowledgeable

Opposites

dumb stupid unintelligent

Word family

Forms intelligentlyunintelligently

Derived forms hyperintelligentintelligentizationintelligentnessnonintelligentsuperintelligentultraintelligent

Related forms intelligence learned wily witty

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

intelligent life
Living beings capable of thought, understanding, and reasoning.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle French intelligent, from Latin intellegēns (“discerning”), present active participle of intellegō (“understand, comprehend”), itself from inter (“between”) + legō (“choose, pick out, read”).

*leǵ- Proto-Indo-European intelligent Middle French intelligens Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People

External links

# intelligent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/
**Frequency rank:** 3428

## Meanings
1. able to learn, understand, and think clearly; clever.
2. showing careful thought; well considered.
3. of a machine or device: able to sense its surroundings and react automatically.

## Examples
- She is an intelligent student who learns new ideas very quickly.
- The engineer made an intelligent proposal for the new car design.
- The car has an intelligent system that warns you about nearby objects.

## Synonyms
- astute
- brainy
- bright
- brilliant
- clever
- educated
- genius
- gifted
- ingenious
- intellectual
- keen
- knowledgeable

## Antonyms
- dumb
- stupid
- unintelligent

## Derived Forms
- hyperintelligent
- intelligentization
- intelligentness
- nonintelligent
- superintelligent
- ultraintelligent

## Related Forms
- intelligence
- learned
- wily
- witty

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *leǵ-
- Root: intelligent
- Root: intelligens

## Etymology
From Middle French intelligent, from Latin intellegēns (“discerning”), present active participle of intellegō (“understand, comprehend”), itself from inter (“between”) + legō (“choose, pick out, read”).

## AI Etymology
Intelligent comes from Middle French intelligent, from Latin intellegēns (“discerning”), present active participle of intellegō (“understand, comprehend”), itself from inter (“between”) + legō (“choose, pick out, read”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *leǵ- and intelligens.

## Topics
- Describing People

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