in·tel·li·gent 
(ĭn-tĕlə-jənt)
(ĭn-tĕlə-jənt)adj.
1. Having intelligence: Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy?
2. Having a high degree of intelligence; mentally acute: an intelligent student.
3. Showing sound judgment and rationality: an intelligent decision; an intelligent solution to the problem.
4. Appealing to the intellect; intellectual: a film with witty and intelligent dialogue.
[Latin intelligēns, intelligent-, present participle of intellegere, intelligere, to perceive : inter-, inter- + legere, to choose; see leg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
in·tel′li·gential (-jĕnshəl) adj.
in·telli·gent·ly adv.
Synonyms: intelligent, bright, brilliant, smart, intellectual
These adjectives mean having or showing mental keenness. Intelligent usually implies the ability to cope with new problems and to use the power of reasoning and inference effectively: The company put its most intelligent engineers to work on rectifying the design flaw. Bright implies quickness or ease in learning: She was a bright student who was soon at the head of the class. Brilliant suggests unusually impressive mental acuteness: "The dullard's envy of brilliant men is always assuaged by the suspicion that they will come to a bad end" (Max Beerbohm).
Smart refers to quick intelligence and often a ready capability for taking care of one's own interests: You were smart to buy your house when prices were low. Intellectual implies the capacity to grasp difficult or abstract concepts: The former professor was the more intellectual candidate.
These adjectives mean having or showing mental keenness. Intelligent usually implies the ability to cope with new problems and to use the power of reasoning and inference effectively: The company put its most intelligent engineers to work on rectifying the design flaw. Bright implies quickness or ease in learning: She was a bright student who was soon at the head of the class. Brilliant suggests unusually impressive mental acuteness: "The dullard's envy of brilliant men is always assuaged by the suspicion that they will come to a bad end" (Max Beerbohm).
Smart refers to quick intelligence and often a ready capability for taking care of one's own interests: You were smart to buy your house when prices were low. Intellectual implies the capacity to grasp difficult or abstract concepts: The former professor was the more intellectual candidate.