noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/
General-American:/ɪntɛləˈd͡ʒɛn(t)si.ə/
General-American:/ɪntɛləˈɡɛn(t)si.ə/
Received-Pronunciation, dated:/ɪntɛlɪˈɡɛntsɪə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:IH2 N T EH2 L AH0 JH EH1 N T S IY0 AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: government, politics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
an educated and intellectual elite
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: clerisy
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: elite, elite group
Narrower terms: culturati, literati
History
Etymology
From Russian интеллиге́нция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia (“intelligence”). Doublet of intelligence.
Across languages
Translations
69 source translations are retained for this English entry.