If you describe someone or something as cerebral, you mean that they are intellectual rather than emotional.
[formal]
Washington struck me as a precarious place from which to publish such a cerebralnewspaper.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Cerebral means relating to the brain.
[medicine]
...a cerebral haemorrhage.
cerebral in British English
(ˈsɛrɪbrəl, US English səˈriːbrəl)
adjective
1.
of or relating to the cerebrum or to the entire brain
2.
involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct
3. phonetics another word for cacuminal
noun
4. phonetics
a consonant articulated in the manner of a cacuminal consonant
Derived forms
cerebrally (ˈcerebrally)
adverb
cerebral in American English
(ˈsɛrəbrəl; səˈribrəl)
adjective
1.
of the brain or the cerebrum
2.
of, appealing to, or conceived by the intellect rather than the emotions; intellectual
3. Phonetics
cacuminal
noun
4. Phonetics
a cacuminal sound
Derived forms
cerebrally (ˈcerebrally)
adverb
Word origin
Fr cérébral < L cerebrum: see cerebellum
Examples of 'cerebral' in a sentence
cerebral
But the 19-year-old intends to take a more cerebral approach.
The Sun (2017)
Doctors said he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There must be a more cerebral approach.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The approach is cerebral but always enlightening.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The other two out of ten strokes follow bleeding caused by a rupture of a cerebral blood vessel.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
His casting had plainly been visual, rather than cerebral.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's played by very profoundly affected cerebral palsy sufferers.
The Sun (2012)
They also become especially prone to damage and clot formation, leading to cerebral haemorrhage and stroke.
Shreeve, Dr Caroline M Lower Your Blood Pressure in 4 Easy Stages (1989)
He was a young beat sergeant, but died in his early thirties of a cerebral haemorrhage.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Does a headache result from tiredness or a hangover, or does it stem from a brain haemorrhage or cerebral tumour?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A less cerebral company might have been tempted to build a whole show around the story of an innocent abroad.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Although they have met only twice, aides say that they get on well and exhibit a similarly cerebral approach to politics.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Footage of the eight-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer throwing aside his walking frame to end the race on his own two feet went viral last night.
The Sun (2015)
Other wisely used drugs are based on increasing the cerebral blood flow, but thereis now good evidence that this flow is not impaired.
Lashford, Stephanie The Residue Report - an action plan for safer food (1988)
Curiously the languid long-term approach suits the cerebral Labour leader as well.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He had a gracious, cerebral, persuasive style of leadership.
Christianity Today (2000)
The latter, the most common form of stroke, is caused by a clot in a cerebral blood vessel.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
More cerebral, less all-action hero?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I could not move my hand for fear of tearing the minute, fragile aneurysm off the middle cerebral artery and causing a catastrophic haemorrhage.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
cerebral
British English: cerebral ADJECTIVE
If you describe someone or something as cerebral, you mean that they are intellectual rather than emotional.
…a cerebral novel.
American English: cerebral
Brazilian Portuguese: cerebral
Chinese: 理智的
European Spanish: cerebral
French: cérébral
German: geistig
Italian: cerebrale
Japanese: 知的な
Korean: 지성에 호소하는
European Portuguese: cerebral
Latin American Spanish: cerebral
All related terms of 'cerebral'
cerebral cortex
the outermost layer of the cerebrum that is the locus of higher brain processes
cerebral death
irreversible cessation of respiration due to irreparable brain damage, even though the heart may continue beating with the aid of a mechanical ventilator : widely considered as the criterion of death
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by damage to a baby's brain before or during its birth, which makes its limbs and muscles permanently weak .
cerebral accident
a disturbance of the blood supply to parts of the brain because of blockage or hemorrhage, causing unconsciousness , paralysis , etc.; stroke
cerebral dominance
the normal tendency for one half of the brain , usually the left cerebral hemisphere in right-handed people, to exercise more control over certain functions (e. g . handedness and language) than the other
cerebral haemorrhage
bleeding from an artery in the brain , which in severe cases causes a stroke
cerebral hemisphere
either half of the cerebrum
cerebral hemorrhage
hemorrhage from a blood vessel into the cerebrum , often followed by neurologic damage ; a type of stroke
cerebral thrombosis
formation of a clot or other blockage in one of the blood vessels of the brain , often followed by neurologic damage ; a type of stroke
cerebrovascular accident
a sudden interruption of the blood supply to the brain caused by rupture of an artery in the brain ( cerebral haemorrhage ) or the blocking of a blood vessel, as by a clot of blood ( cerebral occlusion )
CVA
cerebrovascular accident
brain death
Brain death occurs when someone's brain stops functioning, even though their heart may be kept beating using a machine .