intelligentsia

noun

in·​tel·​li·​gent·​sia in-ˌte-lə-ˈjen(t)-sē-ə How to pronounce intelligentsia (audio) -ˈgen(t)- How to pronounce intelligentsia (audio)
: intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite

Examples of intelligentsia in a Sentence

a presidential candidate who was the darling of the intelligentsia—and very few others
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Russian intelligentsia had once admired Ukraine, seeing in it the birthplace of the Muscovite dynasty and Orthodoxy. James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025 The Russian intelligentsia, many of whom had opposed Ukrainian independence when the Soviet Union fell, was receptive to this line of thinking. James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025 Stalin reinstituted the ban on the Ukrainian language, liquidated Kyiv’s political class and intelligentsia, and starved millions of Ukrainians to death. James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025 The president’s hobbling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Labor Relations Board has upset the promoters of his domestic agenda in the intelligentsia, while his Gaza proposal has left many of his neo-isolationist boosters scrambling—or sidestepping the subject entirely. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for intelligentsia

Word History

Etymology

Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intelligentia intelligence

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of intelligentsia was in 1905

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Cite this Entry

“Intelligentsia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligentsia. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

intelligentsia

noun
in·​tel·​li·​gen·​tsia
in-ˌtel-ə-ˈjen(t)-sē-ə,
-ˈgen(t)-
: intellectuals as a group : educated people

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