Antonyms for intellect
ˈɪn tlˌɛktin·tel·lect

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. intellect

   Mind, in a general sense, includes all the powers of sentient being apart from the physical factors in bodily faculties and activities; in a limited sense, mind is nearly synonymous with intellect, but includes disposition, or the tendency toward action, as appears in the phrase "to have a mind to work." As the seat of mental activity, brain (colloquially brains) is often used as a synonym for mind, intellect, intelligence. Thought, the act, process, or power of thinking, is often used to denote the thinking faculty, and especially the reason. The instinct of animals is now held by many philosophers to be of the same nature as the intellect of man, but inferior and limited; yet the apparent difference is very great.

   An instinct is a propensity prior to experience and independent of instruction.

   Paley Natural Philosophy ch. 18.

   In this sense we speak of human instincts, thus denoting tendencies independent of reasoning or instruction. The soul includes the intellect, sensibilities, and will; beyond what is expressed by the word mind, the soul denotes especially the moral, the immortal nature; we say of a dead body, the soul (not the mind) has fled. Spirit is used especially in contradistinction from matter; it may in many cases be substituted for soul, but soul has commonly a fuller and more determinate meaning; we can conceive of spirits as having no moral nature; the fairies, elves, and brownies of mythology might be termed spirits, but not souls. In the figurative sense, spirit denotes animation, excitability, perhaps impatience; as, a lad of spirit; he sang with spirit; he replied with spirit. Soul denotes energy and depth of feeling, as when we speak of soulful eyes; or it may denote the very life of anything; as, "the hidden soul of harmony," Milton L'Allegro l. 144. Sense may be an antonym of intellect, as when we speak of the sense of hearing; but sense is used also as denoting clear mental action, good judgment, acumen; as, he is a man of sense, or, he showed good sense; sense, even in its material signification, must be reckoned among the activities of mind, tho dependent on bodily functions; the mind, not the eye, really sees; the mind, not the ear, really hears. Consciousness includes all that a sentient being perceives, knows, thinks, or feels, from whatever source arising and of whatever character, kind, or degree, whether with or without distinct thinking, feeling, or willing; we speak of the consciousness of the brute, of the savage, or of the sage. The intellect is that assemblage of faculties which is concerned with knowledge, as distinguished from emotion and volition. Understanding is the Saxon word of the same general import, but is chiefly used of the reasoning powers; the understanding, which Sir Wm. Hamilton has called "the faculty of relations and comparisons," is distinguished by many philosophers from reason in that "reason is the faculty of the higher cognitions or a priori truth."

   Antonyms:
   body, brawn, brute force, material substance, matter

   Synonyms:
   brain, consciousness, disposition, instinct, intelligence, mind, reason, reason, sense, soul, spirit, thought, understanding

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. intellect

   Antonyms:
   matter, mechanism, organization, force, growth, propension, passion

   Synonyms:
   understanding, mind, reason, instinct, consciousness, sense, brains, ability, talent, genius

Matched Categories

1. • Faculty
   • Person

Princeton's WordNetRate these antonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mind, intellectnoun

   knowledge and intellectual ability

   "he reads to improve his mind"; "he has a keen intellect"

   Synonyms:
   intellectual, head, idea, brain, reason, mind, creative thinker, nous, understanding, thinker, psyche, judgment, judgement

2. reason, understanding, intellectnoun

   the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination

   "we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil"

   Synonyms:
   rationality, savvy, apprehension, discernment, cause, reason, grounds, reasonableness, intellectual, agreement, ground, mind, sympathy, understanding

3. intellectual, intellectnoun

   a person who uses the mind creatively

   Synonyms:
   mind, intellectual, understanding, reason

How to use intellect in a sentence?

1. Adamo Macri:

   Speaking of poison, unlike processed food, which is bad to consume, art should be the polar opposite: it should be over-processed to the point of being dangerous. To be deemed subversive, and intriguing to the eye and intellect, it must induce some form and degree of disruption. In that perspective, art is always safe, despite of idiotic censorship, as long as you don't eat it.”

2. Dean Koontz:

   Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy.

3. George Santayana:

   Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.

4. William Ellery Channing:

   To be prosperous is not to be superior, and should form no barrier between men. Wealth ought not to secure the prosperous the slightest consideration. The only distinctions which should be recognized are those of the soul, of strong principle, of incorruptible integrity, of usefulness, of cultivated intellect, of fidelity in seeking the truth.

5. Pope Francis:

   Benedict XVI was a great pope, great for the power and penetration of his intellect, great for his considerable contribution to theology, great for his love for the Church and for human beings, great for his virtues and his religiosity.

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