as in literati
intellectuals considered as a social class
a presidential candidate who was the darling of the intelligentsia—and very few others
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Recent Examples of intelligentsia
Popular opinion was also shaped by an overwhelmingly left-leaning intelligentsia created and shaped by the long national struggle against European imperialism.
—
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
This connects to how the intelligentsia used to say AI art could never replace human art.
—James Barrat, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
All or nothing For most of the Russian nationalist intelligentsia, Alaska is less a jewel to be recovered than a warning against any concession to the West.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Ferlinghetti was a veteran both of D-Day, in World War II, and of the left-wing intelligentsia that arose after the war.
—Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
This connects to how the intelligentsia used to say AI art could never replace human art.
—James Barrat, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
All or nothing For most of the Russian nationalist intelligentsia, Alaska is less a jewel to be recovered than a warning against any concession to the West.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Ferlinghetti was a veteran both of D-Day, in World War II, and of the left-wing intelligentsia that arose after the war.
—Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intelligentsia
Noun
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Georgia Tech football might have found its next elite running back just 25 miles north of Bobby Dodd Stadium.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
1 May 2026
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There were ups and downs through the race’s first few decades, but always a consistent effort to get elites— women included—to the track.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
1 May 2026
Noun
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They are ruled by a grizzled and sclerotic clerisy that funnels resources to its private army, the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).—
Matthew Continetti,
National Review,
24 Sep. 2022
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Democrats and the public-health clerisy denounced President Trump for rushing Covid vaccines.—
Allysia Finley,
WSJ,
4 Sep. 2022
Noun
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Obama’s staff would look less amused a few weeks later, as their boss hosted President-elect Trump at the White House.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Apr. 2026
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Hungarian premier-elect Peter Magyar’s incoming cabinet plans to cut taxes for low earners and held talks to repair ties with banks that frayed under Viktor Orban’s tumultuous 16 years in power.—
Andras Gergely,
Bloomberg,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intelligentsia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intelligentsia. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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