intellectuel
French, noun/ɛ̃.tɛ.lɛk.tɥɛl/
intellectuel is spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-E-C-T-U-E-L (12 letters) and appears 9.8 times per million words in written French, the 6,801st most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Intellectuel is a French masculine noun meaning “an intellectual (intelligent, learned person, especially one who discourses about learned matters)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Personne dont l’activité repose sur l’exercice de l’esprit, qui s’engage dans la sphère publique pour faire…”.
What does intellectuel mean in English?
adjective
- 1
intellectual
masturbation intellectuelle
noun
- 1
masculinean intellectual (intelligent, learned person, especially one who discourses about learned matters)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui appartient à l’intellect ; qui est dans l’entendement. 2. Chez qui prédomine l’usage de l’intelligence, par opposition à manuel.
noun: 1. Personne dont l’activité repose sur l’exercice de l’esprit, qui s’engage dans la sphère publique pour faire part de ses analyses.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of intellectuel
- intellectuelle feminine
- intellectuels masculine plural
- intellectuelles feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce intellectuel?
- /ɛ̃.tɛ.lɛk.tɥɛl/
- /ɛ̃.te.lɛk.tɥɛl/
- \ɛ̃.te.lɛk.tɥɛl\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to intellectuel
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is intellectuel in French?
intellectuel appears 9.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).