Intelligent

How to spell intelligent

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce intelligent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intelligent mean?

1. adjectiveHaving a high level of mental ability; able to understand, reason, and learn well.

Intelligent in a sentence

• The new recruit gave a remarkably intelligent answer during the interview.

• Dolphins are widely regarded as intelligent animals.

Where does intelligent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin intelligentem, the present participle of intelligere, meaning 'to understand' or 'to perceive'. That verb was built from inter, meaning 'between', and legere, meaning 'to choose, gather, or read', so the literal idea was something like 'to choose between' or 'to pick out distinctions'. From the sense of discerning fine differences came the idea of mental sharpness and comprehension. English took the word in during the late 1500s, partly through French and partly directly from the Latin. The same legere root appears in 'lecture', 'legible', and 'select', all of which involve reading, gathering, or choosing, and that shared origin explains the single l in the second syllable that writers sometimes wrongly double.

How the word is built

• intel- (from inter-: between)
• -lig (from legere: to choose, read, gather)
• -ent (adjective suffix)