| WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025ac•a•dem•ic /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/USA pronunciation adj. - Education of or relating to a school, esp. one for higher education:[before a noun]an academic institution.
- Educationof or relating to school subjects that teach general intellectual skills rather than specific job skills:academic subjects like English and mathematics.
- not practical or directly useful:Whether she wanted to come or not is an academic question because she's here now.
n. [countable]- Educationa student or teacher at a college or university.
ac•a•dem•i•cal•ly,adv. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025ac•a•dem•ic (ak′ə dem′ik),USA pronunciation adj. - Educationof or pertaining to a college, academy, school, or other educational institution, esp. one for higher education:academic requirements.
- Educationpertaining to areas of study that are not primarily vocational or applied, as the humanities or pure mathematics.
- theoretical or hypothetical;
not practical, realistic, or directly useful:an academic question; an academic discussion of a matter already decided. - learned or scholarly but lacking in worldliness, common sense, or practicality.
- conforming to set rules, standards, or traditions;
conventional:academic painting. - Educationacquired by formal education, esp. at a college or university:academic preparation for the ministry.
- Philosophy(cap.) of or pertaining to Academe or to the Platonic school of philosophy.
n. - Educationa student or teacher at a college or university.
- Educationa person who is academic in background, attitudes, methods, etc.:He was by temperament an academic, concerned with books and the arts.
- Philosophy(cap.) a person who supports or advocates the Platonic school of philosophy.
- Educationacademics, the scholarly activities of a school or university, as classroom studies or research projects:more emphasis on academics and less on athletics.
- GreekAkadēmeikós. Seeacademy,academe, -ic
- LatinAcadēmicus
- 1580–90
2. humanistic, liberal.4. theoretical.5. See formal 1. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: academic/ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/,academical/ˌækəˈdɛmɪkəl/adj- belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy
- of purely theoretical or speculative interest
- excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs
- (esp of a schoolchild) having an aptitude for study
- conforming to set rules and traditions; conventional:an academic painter
- relating to studies such as languages, philosophy, and pure science, rather than applied, technical, or professional studies
n- a member of a college or university
ˌacaˈdemicallyadv 'academic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): | |