intellect
/ˈɪntəˌlɛkt/noun
intellect is spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-E-C-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, intellect means “The faculty of thinking, judging, abstract reasoning, and conceptual understanding; the cognitive faculty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of intellect is intellects.
How many letters and syllables are in intellect?
| Letters | 9: I-N-T-E-L-L-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is intellect?
Intellect appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce intellect?
- UK /ˈɪntəlɛkt/
- US /ˈɪntəˌlɛkt/
- Australia /ˈɪntəlekt/
Intellect has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-intellect.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of intellect
- intellects plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does intellect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The faculty of thinking, judging, abstract reasoning, and conceptual understanding; the cognitive faculty.
Intellect is one of man's greatest powers.
- 2
The capacity of that faculty (in a particular person).
They were chosen because of their outstanding intellect.
- 3
A person who has that faculty to a great degree.
Some of the world's leading intellects were meeting there.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Intellect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | intellect |
| German | Intellekt |
| Portuguese | intelecto , intelectual |
| Spanish | intelecto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does intellect come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin intellēctus (“understanding, intellect”), from Latin intellegō (“understand; reason”), from inter (“between, among”) + legō (“read”), with connotation of bind.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).