Academic is used to describe things that relate to the work done in schools, colleges, and universities, especially work which involves studying and reasoning rather than practical or technical skills.
Their academic standards are high.
I was terrible at school and left with few academic qualifications.
academically (ækədemɪkli)adverb
He is academically gifted.
I was only average academically, but was good at sports.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Academic is used to describe things that relate to schools, colleges, and universities.
...the start of the last academic year.
I'd had enough of academic life.
3. adjective
Academic is used to describe work, or a school, college, or university, that places emphasis on studying and reasoning rather than on practical or technical skills.
The author has settled for a more academic approach.
I went to a school that was very academic.
Synonyms: scholarly, learned, intellectual, literary More Synonyms of academic
4. adjective
Someone who is academic is good at studying.
The system is failing most disastrously among less academic children.
Synonyms: studious, serious, intellectual, eager More Synonyms of academic
5. countable noun
An academic is a member of a university or college who teaches or does research.
Synonyms: scholar, intellectual, don, student More Synonyms of academic
6. adjective
You can say that a discussion or situation is academic if you think it is not important because it has no real effect or cannot happen.
This was not an academic exercise–soldiers' lives were at risk.
Such is the size of the problem that these arguments are purely academic.
More Synonyms of academic
academic in British English
(ˌækəˈdɛmɪk) or academical (ˌækəˈdɛmɪkəl)
adjective
1.
belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy
2.
of purely theoretical or speculative interest
an academic argument
3.
excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs
4.
(esp of a schoolchild) having an aptitude for study
5.
conforming to set rules and traditions; conventional
an academic painter
6.
relating to studies such as languages, philosophy, and pure science, rather than applied, technical, or professional studies
noun
7.
a member of a college or university
Derived forms
academically (ˌacaˈdemically)
adverb
academic in American English
(ˌækəˈdɛmɪk)
adjective
1.
of colleges, universities, etc.; scholastic; scholarly
2.
having to do with general or liberal rather than technical or vocational education
3.
of or belonging to an academy of scholars, artists, etc.
4.
following fixed rules or conventions; pedantic or formalistic
an academic style of painting
5.
merely theoretical; having no direct practical application
an academic question
: Also ˌacaˈdemical (ˌækəˈdɛmɪkəl)
noun
6.
a teacher or student at a college or university
Word origin
L academicus < academia: see academy
Examples of 'academic' in a sentence
academic
The group will champion high academic standards rather than expanding selection.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Teachers and archaeologists criticised the move as evidence that the curriculum was being reduced to core academic or practical subjects.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That would mean better links between academic research and industry, he said.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They link self-worth to academic success and lose a sense of themselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My father did a lot of academic work and took on churches in Peterborough and Corby.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Dad was more concerned with our thinking than academic success.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
My preaching became more personal and less academic.
Christianity Today (2000)
The point at issue was in fact rather academic.
Jenkins, Roy Truman (1986)
We have great need for able people whether with academic or more practical skills.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
That was the end of his academic career.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Many are disruptive in class because they have no aptitude for further academic studies.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Providing students feedback about their behavior as well as the adequacy of their academic performances is critical.
Pressley, Michael & McCormick, Christine Advanced Educational Psychology For Educators, Researchers and Policymakers, (1995)
The initiative aims to teach academics and business people a series of leadership skills.
The Sun (2014)
This is clearly the fashionable academic subject of the moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It also recommends a less academic focus in the early school years.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He was a man of letters rather than an academic.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Nor does the book offer a fresh and robust defence of academic freedom.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
We have all found sound academic and practical training invaluable in the course of our working lives.
The Sun (2008)
Years of bad schooling cannot be put right at an academic university by massaging the entry requirements or providing remedial classes.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They could also include schools that mixed academic and vocational teaching as well as specialist schools such as sports or music colleges.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Within American academic circles he is a celebrity.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We support schools choosing academic selection where there's big local demand.
The Sun (2016)
This strange combination of academic success and off-duty hedonism continued throughout high school.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
What is the university 's academic record?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Now academics are conducting research into the issue at two schools as part of a three-year experiment into social and emotional contagion.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
academic
British English: academic /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/ ADJECTIVE
Academic means relating to life or work in schools, colleges, and universities.
Their academic standards are high.
American English: academic
Arabic: أَكَادِيـمِيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: acadêmico
Chinese: 学术的
Croatian: akademski
Czech: akademický
Danish: akademisk
Dutch: academisch
European Spanish: académico
Finnish: akateeminen
French: scolaire
German: akademisch
Greek: ακαδημαϊκός
Italian: accademico
Japanese: 大学の
Korean: 학원의
Norwegian: akademisk
Polish: akademicki
European Portuguese: académico
Romanian: academic
Russian: академический
Latin American Spanish: académico
Swedish: akademisk
Thai: ด้านวิชาการ
Turkish: akademik
Ukrainian: академічний
Vietnamese: mang tính học thuật
British English: academic NOUN
An academic is a member of a university or college who teaches or does research.
A group of academics say they can predict house prices through a computer program.
American English: academic
Brazilian Portuguese: acadêmico
Chinese: 学者
European Spanish: profesor universitario
French: universitaire
German: Akademiker
Italian: universitario
Japanese: 大学教授
Korean: 교수
European Portuguese: académico
Latin American Spanish: profesor universitario
All related terms of 'academic'
academic dean
a high-ranking academic official who oversees all the major academic operations including curriculum , workloads , and faculty budgets
academic gown
a loose garment like a very light coat with wide sleeves worn over a person's outer clothes and indicating academic status
academic rank
the rank held by members of academic staff having titles such as professor , associate professor, assistant professor, instructor etc
academic year
the period of the year during which students attend school or university
academic career
A career is the job or profession that someone does for a long period of their life.
academic dress
formal dress, usually comprising cap , gown , and hood , worn by university staff and students
academic ability
Your ability to do something is the fact that you can do it.
academic advisor
a faculty member who helps and advises students on academic matters, such as planning their academic career
academic education
Education involves teaching people various subjects, usually at a school or college , or being taught .
academic freedom
freedom of a teacher or student to hold and express views without fear of arbitrary interference by officials
academic subject
A subject is an area of knowledge or study, especially one that you study at school, college , or university.
academic background
Your background is the kind of family you come from and the kind of education you have had. It can also refer to such things as your social and racial origins , your financial status , or the type of work experience that you have.
academic discipline
A discipline is a particular area of study, especially a subject of study in a college or university.
academic literature
The literature on a particular subject of study is all the books and articles that have been published about it.
academic qualifications
Your qualifications are the examinations that you have passed.
chief academic officer
an official in a university, college , or medical school who usually reports directly to the president, chancellor , rector , or vice chancellor
Chinese translation of 'academic'
academic
(ækəˈdɛmɪk)
adj
[system, books, freedom]学(學)术(術)的 (xuéshù de)
[person]学(學)究的 (xuéjiū de)
(pej, = irrelevant) 空谈(談)的 (kōngtán de)
n
大学(學)教师(師) (dàxué jiàoshī)
1 (adjective)
Definition
relating to a college or university
the country's richest and most famous academic institutions
Synonyms
scholastic
the values which encouraged her scholastic achievement
school
university
college
educational
the British educational system
campus
collegiate
2 (adjective)
The author has settled for a more academic approach.
Synonyms
scholarly
He was an intellectual, scholarly man.
learned
He is a serious scholar, a genuine learned man.
intellectual
They were very intellectual and witty.
literary
a literary masterpiece
erudite
I found him a charming and erudite companion.
highbrow
He presents his own highbrow literary programme.
studious
lettered
young and old, lettered and unlettered
swotty (British, informal)
3 (adjective)
Definition
(of pupils) having an aptitude for study
The system is failing less academic children.
Synonyms
studious
I was a very quiet, studious little girl.
serious
a serious novel
intellectual
eager
hard-working
scholarly
thoughtful
He was looking very thoughtful.
earnest
Rupert was an earnest young man.
reflective
Marek is a quiet, reflective man.
diligent
a diligent student
meditative
Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.
bookish
a quiet, bookish child
assiduous
an assiduous student
swotty (British, informal)
sedulous
4 (adjective)
Definition
of theoretical interest only
These arguments are purely academic.
Synonyms
theoretical
There is a theoretical risk, but there is seldom a problem.
ideal
an ideal economic world
abstract
starting with a few abstract principles
speculative
He has written a speculative biography of Christopher Marlowe.
hypothetical
a purely hypothetical question
impractical
notional
the notional value of assets
conjectural
There is something undeniably conjectural about such claims.
(noun)
Definition
a member of the teaching or research staff of a college or university
He is an academic who believes in winning through argument.
Synonyms
scholar
The library attracts thousands of scholars and researchers.
intellectual
teachers, artists and other intellectuals
don
The train was full of university dons.
student
She's a former student of the school.
master
a retired maths master
professor
a professor of economics at Chittagong University
fellow
pupil
a school with over 1,000 pupils
lecturer
a lecturer in Law at Southampton University
tutor
scholastic
bookworm
man or woman of letters
egghead (informal)
savant
The opinion of the savants on this issue is not united.