as in intellectual
much given to learning and thinking
a fringe party of nerdy political activists who have no chance of getting elected
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Recent Examples of nerdy
In the iconic teen movie, Rachael Leigh Cook plays a nerdy girl who, in one scene, undergoes a makeover and rocks a red spaghetti strap minidress with a brown bob.
—
Meg Walters, InStyle, 6 Feb. 2026
Nothing in the tiny, nerdy world of trivia confers more authority than winning the World Quizzing Championships.
—Drew Goins, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
Cookie Fleck and her nerdy husband, Gerry (Levy), are the underdogs of the lot.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
Some of them look nerdy, some do not.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 28 Jan. 2026
Inevitably, in a film where no wheel really goes unreinvented, the earnestly nerdy Daniel, who collects fantasy action figures and even puts them on his desk, falls under their spell.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
And in November, the company rolled out different personalities allowing users to choose from professional, friendly, candid, quirky, efficient, cynical and nerdy versions.
—Arianna Huffington, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
The earbuds, at least to me just seem more comfortable and look less nerdy.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Otis… oh, sweet, dear, nerdy Otis.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Meg Walters, InStyle, 6 Feb. 2026
Nothing in the tiny, nerdy world of trivia confers more authority than winning the World Quizzing Championships.
—Drew Goins, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
Cookie Fleck and her nerdy husband, Gerry (Levy), are the underdogs of the lot.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
Some of them look nerdy, some do not.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 28 Jan. 2026
Inevitably, in a film where no wheel really goes unreinvented, the earnestly nerdy Daniel, who collects fantasy action figures and even puts them on his desk, falls under their spell.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
And in November, the company rolled out different personalities allowing users to choose from professional, friendly, candid, quirky, efficient, cynical and nerdy versions.
—Arianna Huffington, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
The earbuds, at least to me just seem more comfortable and look less nerdy.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Otis… oh, sweet, dear, nerdy Otis.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerdy
Adjective
-
Mystic trust in the power of Mercury or whatever spans generations and intellectual capacities.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
-
But these associations were purely intellectual.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The less cerebral side of life is visible just across the street.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
-
As for Celebrini, the youngest player on the team, his skill and cerebral 200-foot game should, in theory, mesh well with McDavid.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
With a sharp feel for political arithmetic and a slightly geeky approach to strategy, Hill-Lewis has cultivated constructive relationships with key figures in the ANC leadership, helped along by a personable, pragmatic style that plays well across party lines.—
Sam Mkokeli,
semafor.com,
4 Feb. 2026
-
My spreadsheet used standard deviation, a geeky measurement, to learn that California’s confidence index is 53% more volatile than the national benchmark.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
The fact that Katherine had been institutionalized may have tainted her scholarly reputation.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Brown-Grier argued that this knowledge gap is not just a scholarly problem but a governance one.—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nerdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerdy. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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