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
Relevance
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
Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 9 Feb. 2026
The gift from Zuckerberg and Meta will fund abatement, demolition, and initial construction of the campus, enabling new student housing alongside new academic spaces, including STEM facilities and an AI center.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
The district has not only prioritized academics, but also created a sense of belonging for students via clubs and non-academic activities that help keep them engaged with school through graduation, Dorland said.
—Jessica Seaman, Denver Post, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Adjective
The shooting started after Neves Valente entered a study session in a Brown academic building and opened fire on students, killing 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and wounding nine others.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 9 Feb. 2026
The gift from Zuckerberg and Meta will fund abatement, demolition, and initial construction of the campus, enabling new student housing alongside new academic spaces, including STEM facilities and an AI center.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Noun
Just as that film brought awards for its director and star, Fernanda Torres, The Secret Agent is reaping similar benefits, with the Golden Globes giving its coveted Best Actor award to Wagner Moura for his title role as an academic on the run from an authoritarian government in 1977 Brazil.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
The district has not only prioritized academics, but also created a sense of belonging for students via clubs and non-academic activities that help keep them engaged with school through graduation, Dorland said.
—Jessica Seaman, Denver Post, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for academic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for academic
Adjective
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However, the ability to choose an educational environment that truly fits our child has not only improved their academic performance, but also their overall happiness and outlook on life.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Food preparation for the event was handled by the Urban League staff as well as some of the parents and past parents that have been involved in the educational program who donated their time, Gillespie said.—
David Sharos,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Mystic trust in the power of Mercury or whatever spans generations and intellectual capacities.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
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But these associations were purely intellectual.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Without proper passivation, the wafer edges act as a drain, negating the theoretical performance benefits these wafers could provide.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
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What makes this moment distinct is that the debate no longer feels theoretical.—
Alessandra Schade,
Time,
14 Feb. 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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In the face of widespread pessimism about the political fate of the United States and growing political polarization, scholars and citizens across the country are reimagining how American democracy could better serve the needs of the whole population.—
Jennifer Lynn McCoy,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2026
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Obviously, as a scholar of the reality-television arts and sciences, this final reason is the most interesting to me.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The fact that Katherine had been institutionalized may have tainted her scholarly reputation.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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Brown-Grier argued that this knowledge gap is not just a scholarly problem but a governance one.—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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To my eye, Zurek has almost tied up the loose ends that have been confounding physics for 100 years, without invoking any substantially new or speculative assumptions.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
13 Feb. 2026
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Deutsche Bank’s Reid noted that much of the selling driven by these anecdotes was purely speculative.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There’s little scaffolding or bridging, virtually no space given to centralized agencies, which most development academicians would agree still have their place.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Other founding principals include fellow academicians Andrei Shleifer and Robert Vishny.—
Charles Rotblut,
Forbes,
18 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Academic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/academic. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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