variants
also academical
1
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
"If you spent more time in academic pursuits and less time in social ones, you could easily make good grades," the dean told Valerie
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intellectual
very learned or educated but inexperienced in practical matters
academic thinkers who have no understanding of realpolitik
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in theoretical
existing only as an assumption or speculation
your arguments are merely academic—such a worst-case scenario is unlikely to ever occur
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in academe
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of academic
Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
In March, the University of Connecticut Health Center, the state’s flagship academic medical institution, took over Waterbury Hospital.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For a long time, jazz, for me, at least, was sounding real academic.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Adjective
While several factors influenced his decision to leave Cuba, Ramírez said the most important was his desire for a stronger academic future.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
In March, the University of Connecticut Health Center, the state’s flagship academic medical institution, took over Waterbury Hospital.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
Noun
Gamage urged another academic — Jeff Hoopes, a professor at the University of North Carolina who specializes in how people respond to tax law — to review both studies.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For a long time, jazz, for me, at least, was sounding real academic.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for academic
Adjective
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The other, extending protections to educational institutions, was vetoed.—
Elliot Cosgrove,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
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The information provided is for educational purposes and should not be construed as financial, investment or trading advice.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Such an education feeds their curiosity, safeguards their intellectual humility, and develops their capacity for empathy.—
Steven F. Wilson,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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The pair bonded immediately through an insatiable intellectual exchange — conversations that formed the basis of many of LaSota’s future blog posts — as well as their experiences navigating their respective gender transitions.—
Tessa Stuart,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Artificial Intelligence has evolved from a theoretical concept to a prevailing element of daily life.—
Kemba Walden,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
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Some of the capacities cited may also represent theoretical potential or systems that are not consistently operating at full scale.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Woke doesn't just characterize academe, academe is from where almost every trope of woke originally came.—
Bradley Gitz,
Arkansas Online,
26 Jan. 2026
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Chinese research took a long while to recover from Mao’s purge of academe.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Noun
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Van Bendegem, who would become a leading scholar on ultrafinitist logic, later addressed these concerns by considering a geometry in which a line or curve has width and is both finite and finitely divisible.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
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Ted Kaptchuk, an acupuncturist and leading scholar of the placebo effect, has described this phenomenon in detail.—
Hannah Kerman,
STAT,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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From the scholarly and enlightened to the tough and intimidating, people of all walks of life and cultural backgrounds love a good, thick face of hair.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Likewise, scholarly exchanges are picking up.—
Andy Browne,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Developers routinely file speculative interconnection requests for projects that never get built, flooding queues with phantom demand.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Apr. 2026
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The original ordinance was intended to prevent speculative demolition so that a developer could not tear down a house without approval to build a new one.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The project was led by Xu Jianzhong, PhD, a CAS academician and engineering thermophysics expert.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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Authors call for a worldwide network of government leaders, UN agencies, scientists, academicians and the public, all designed to combat the spread of ultraprocessed foods, prioritizing children.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
18 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Academic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/academic. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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