academic
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
related to schools or studying, often showing a love for learning
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
akuhdehmikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ækəˈdɛmɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Belonging to an academy or other higher institution of learning, or a scholarly society or organization.
Having a love of or aptitude for learning.
In particular: relating to literary, classical, or artistic studies like the humanities, rather than to technical or vocational studies like engineering or welding.
Having little practical use or value, as by being overly detailed and unengaging, or by being theoretical and speculative with no practical importance.
So scholarly as to be unaware of the outside world; lacking in worldliness; inexperienced in practical matters.
Belonging to the school or philosophy of Plato.
noun
A senior member of an academy, college, or university; a person who attends an academy; a person engaged in scholarly pursuits; one who is academic in practice.
usually capitalized
A follower of Plato, a Platonist.
A member of the Academy; an academician.
plural only
Academic dress; academicals.
plural only
Academic studies.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Belonging to an academy or other higher institution of learning, or a scholarly society or organization.
As an adjective, 'academic' describes anything related to schools, colleges, or scholarly study. It can imply something theoretical rather than practical, or very intellectual. It’s distinct from 'practical' or 'real-world.'
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
School counselor's office
“His academic performance has greatly improved this semester.”
Work meeting
“That's an interesting academic point, but is it practical?”
University brochure
“We offer a wide range of academic programs and research opportunities.”
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use academic
- “The academic curriculum.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Scholarly
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A secondary school (usually private).
In regard to academic matters.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A gown worn by academics or judges.
A program of education in liberal arts and sciences (usually in preparation for higher education).
A professional relation between instructors and those they instruct.
A requirement for admission to or completion of an academic program.
A gown worn by academics or judges.
The time during which a school holds classes.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: senior member of an academy or college
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.